Truth & Consequences
by White Firebird
Summary: We hated each other, we insulted each other, we pulled pranks on each other.... and here I am, falling for the girl. Hard. I need a Peppy Cola. This is gonna be a long, bumpy ride...
1. Just the beginning

**AN: Hey everyone! This is my first ever iCarly fanfic, and well, after reading a lot of them lately, I saw the fun in writing these characters and decided to join in on the action! I don't really know what else to say other than this story takes place a little after iKiss, but other than that, it's a completely original storyline here, doesn't take place inbetween any episodes. I hope you all enjoy my first venture into the iCarly fanfic universe, so sit back, and have fun reading! And reviews make my day as well :)**

People say that things happen for a reason. Pfft. They never had to live a day of my life in my shoes.

I'm supposed to be watching the television, but my eyes are anywhere but there. It's not that I don't like Girly Cow (because I'll be honest, I do find it to be humorous on occasion)...no, it's because I feel like I can't keep my eyes off of the girl to my far right. I can't understand why my eyes seem to dart back and forth between her and the ceiling, or the floor, or the table, whatever. I'm praying for some sort of distraction, hoping that maybe Spencer will come bursting out into the room, excited about a new sculpture or something ridiculous. Maybe Carly will suggest we go upstairs now and begin hammering out ideas for the next iCarly that's supposed to be happening in a few days. Or maybe Sam will just start attacking me for no reason. Hey, she's been doing it for years now, why would she suddenly stop?

Oh, that's right.

Maybe it's because in my twisted, messed up reality, Sam feels the same way about me that I do about her. For every little barb she throws my way, I take it in stride, as I have been for the past year now, resisting the urge to lash out and make a snide comment about her in return. If this was a year or so ago, I'd of done it no problem....sure, I probably would have had a nice bruise on my arm or a throbbing shin for my troubles, but I would have done it regardless.

Now? Not so much. Call me crazy, but....

I think I like Sam Puckett. You heard right. **I. Like. Sam.** I think I need my head examined....and _not_ a tick bath.

"Hey, Fredwierdo, quit staring, will ya? It's creepy having your ugly mug lookin' at me like that."

I'm snapped out of my trance, cursing myself silently for allowing my gaze to fall on Sam for more than a second or two. I can't help it, though! For some insane reason, I'm finding myself attracted to her more and more as the days go by. Maybe it's the way her unruly blonde hair falls over her face. Perhaps it's the way she lights up whenever she eats a pound of ham. It might be her infectious laugh, even if she's laughing at me. Argh! It's that darn fire escape's fault. Yeah, that's it! No....it's not fair to blame that. That moment was....I can't describe it. I...

"Seriously, nerd, you stare at me like that one more time, and I'm gonna break your arm off and beat you over the head with it."

Dang it! I was staring at her...._again._ This time, Carly's giving me an odd look, wondering with her eyes what's up with me. I merely shrug and say nothing, turning my attention back to the television.

"Freddie, are you feeling alright? You've been acting weird all day..."

No, Carly, I'm **not** alright. I've got a huge crush on the demon girl sitting next to you, I can't stop staring at her beauty, and I don't know whether I can keep it bottled up inside for much longer. That answer your question?!?

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. I'm fine, Carls. Just...thinking, that's all."

A lame excuse if there ever was one. Carly nods her head, and thankfully lets the subject drop...for now. But that doesn't mean that Sam can't get a quick jab in.

"Thinking about what? How Carly will never love you and how you'll end up never getting married and living alone for the rest of your life?"

Carly turns her head to face Sam, horrified expression written all over her features. I do my best not to say something back and merely roll my eyes, letting out a disgusted sigh. How could I possibly like someone like SAM PUCKETT!? It's a modern day mystery....I'm the geek, she's the bully. She beats up on me, I take it like a champ, and we somehow manage to co-exist on a daily basis. That's how it's supposed to be! How it should **always** be! I can't like Sam! That'd disrupt the natural order of things! Me liking Sam is like....black turning to white, up becoming down, left becoming right, Spencer becoming un-Spencer-like! It's just not supposed to happen. At all!

"Whatever", I say meekly. That's all. Sam arches an eyebrow in my direction before rolling her eyes and giving up. I can tell that my change in demeanor is slowly starting to peeve her.

"It's no fun ragging on you when you don't say something back, Freddie. What's gotten into you?"

If you only knew, Sam....if you only knew.

"Nothing's gotten into me, Sam. Just have a lot of things on my mind, and you insulting me nonstop isn't one of them."

I didn't mean for the words to sound harsh, they just came out that way. Great. Now Sam's starting to shift her position on the couch, like she's ready to pounce and beat the crap out of me at any moment. Her brows are arched and she wears an almost insulted look on her face before responding.

"Oh yeah, that so, dork?"

"Yeah, that is so. Why, don't like how I ignore your jabs at me?"

Keep digging that grave, Benson....

"Don't make me come over there and..."

Before anything else was said (and before Carly tried breaking up our banter for the millionth time), Spencer came running out from his room, huge smile plastered all over his face as he held something behind his back, out of sight from us.

"Hey guys! Look at what I found!"

He sounded like a five year old on a sugar rush as he whipped out...a power tool? At least that's what it looked like to me. I couldn't tell, it was just so....Spencer-ish. That's the best way to describe it. It looked like it fit him perfectly.

"Uh, not to sound rude or anything, Spence, but...what exactly is that thing?"

"Yeah Spencer, tell me what you've been obsessing over."

"What up with that goofy thing, dude?"

He looked at the three of us like we all had insulted Canadian bacon, or we were a three headed dragon. He then shook his head and did a little dance before again thrusting out whatever it was he held in his hands for us to see. Nope, still no clue as to what the contraption was. But whatever it was, it sure was making Spencer happy.

"I finally found it! Took me forever to locate it in my room, but did mounds of art supplies and dirty clothes stop me? Noooo! I found it--"

"Just cut to the chase, dude."

Typical Sam....always the impatient one.

"Right! So Carly, you remember that exercise bar thing I saw on the TV once?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"This is it! I'm gonna use this to get ripped and then go try out for the football team...for real!"

I could tell that Carly was trying her best not to laugh, and truth be told, so was I. Sam just looked down at her feet and grinned that grin I like so much (dang it, I did it again!) whenever something funny happens or is said. Spencer looked at us trying to contain our laughter and his face fell. Now I felt bad. He wasn't joking, he was serious, and here we are trying not to laugh in his face like a group of jerks.

"Aw, Spence, we're sorry, we didn't mean to laugh. It's just, remember the last time you said you wanted to try out for the Seattle Cobras?"

"That was then, little sis, and this is now! I'm seriously gonna train my butt off and make the team!"

"But what about your sculptures? Are you gonna stop doing them like that time you became a dental assistant?", I ask.

That got a chuckle out of Sam as Spencer narrowed his eyes at her, causing her to stop, but I could tell she was laughing hysterically on the inside at the image of Spencer working in a dentist's office with all the tools, not knowing what to do with all of them. He then shrugged his shoulders, face going blank for a second, before another burst of genius (or whatever it was in his case) came to him.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot! I totally realized what a doof I was when I went through that phase, so I've decided that I'm gonna juggle both my sculpting and my football duties!"

"Spencer!", Carly's voice cried out. "Are you sure you wanna do that? Remember the last time you tried multi-tasking between two jobs?"

She then shuddered and had a distant look in her eye as she muttered to herself, "So. Much. Cleaning...."

An apologetic look came over Spencer's face, but it was quickly erased as he placed the exercise bar thing down on the ground and, almost magically, grabbed a football and motioned towards me to get up, tossing the football at me as he began to jog towards the back door near the kitchen. Carly, who by now had stopped shuddering, joined Sam in giving Spencer a very weird look as he stood with his back to the door and pointed for me to go to the front door.

"Alright Freddo, now what I want you to do, is throw the ball at me as hard as you can!"

"You sure about this, Spence?", I ask, wondering what he could possibly be thinking of in that mind of his.

"Totally! Now what I am about to do is attempt to multi-task, by catching the ball thrown at me and simultaneously create a makeshift piece of art with these here pots and pans!"

Something about this whole thing told me that it wasn't going to end well....but I did as I was asked to do. Cocking my arm back, football in hand, I was prepared to throw the ball...right when Sam interjected and grabbed the ball from my hands. Like I didn't see that one coming. Tossing the ball up and down in her hands, she's smiling again, and I'm resisting the urge to stare at her beautiful face again and just kiss her lips...wait, _WHAT?!?_ I think I need to leave....if this keeps up, she'll catch on and then REALLY want to whale on me!

"Sam, Spencer asked me to throw the ball, not you. Just give it back so I can do what he asked of me."

"Let me think about that, Fredwina....mhm, yeah, not gonna happen."

This time Carly stood from her seat on the couch and put her hand on her hip, giving Sam an admonishing look, and for once, Sam actually heeded the look and let out a dramatic sigh, forcefully slamming the ball into my gut, grinning evilly before giving me a noogie and messing up my hair. The stuff I go through to just be around her....dang it!

"Fine, you win, Carls. Go ahead and show off your _manly_ rocket arm, Fredward. If you can get the ball past the counter, I'll stop ragging on ya for a day. Actually get the ball to Spencer, and I'll stop ragging on ya for a whole week."

"Really??", I said, a bit too eagerly, which just caused a devilish smirk to curl upon her lips. Of course she was kidding. What else was I to expect?

"Nah, no dice, Benson. Remember the last time I went a whole week without insulting you? Mama ain't goin' through those withdrawls again!"

Rolling my eyes and ignoring a chuckling Sam, I look to Carly, who gives me a face that says, "Please don't kill my brother!", and I inwardly smile as I rear my arm back again and then, in one fluid motion, release the ball in the direction of Spencer.

Except Spencer wasn't paying attention to the ball hurtling his way. You could imagine what happened next.

"MY FACE!", Spencer cried out as he was face down on the kitchen floor, pots and pans everywhere as Carly hurriedly ran to her brother and knelt beside him, trying to ease him up, but he was dead-weighting her, content to remain in his current position. Sam looked to me, her jaw dropped, as if she was actually _impressed_ I had done. She looked so beautiful like that....OH COME ON!

"I'm sorry, Spence! I thought you were still paying attention! My bad!", I screamed out, hoping he or Carly would hear my apology. Carly turned her head towards me and nodded her head, accepting it on his behalf, before finally getting her brother off the floor and onto his feet, only to watch him stumble, trip over a pot, and then fall on the floor again. Gotta admit, even when he's in pain and possibly concussed, Spencer's still pretty darn hilarious.

"Good job there, Benson. Didn't think a wuss like you had it in ya to break someone's face with a football."

"I didn't break his face, Sam....hopefully. It just kinda....happened."

"Still....that was uh...a pretty good throw....for someone like you."

Wait...what was this? Was this Sam actually being nice to me? Well, I shouldn't be surprised, ever since that darn kiss we shared, she's been lightening up and not been as vicious to me....but is this her actually...meaning it? I didn't know what to think, but I had to act fast in what I had to say.

"You know, Sam", I said, whispering low enough so that Carly couldn't hear me, though I think I was covered there, as Spencer's painful wails hung over the entire apartment. "You don't need to be so harsh all the time. You really don't."

She eyed me up and down for a second, contemplating my words. She then stifled a chuckle as some of her blonde tresses swung down and covered half of her face as she leaned in and began to whisper in my ear.

"You know, Fredishini....I'm not as evil as you think. Maybe underneath this tough girl exterior I got here is a dainty little girly girl like Carly. Maybe."

My eyes grew wide and my jaw dropped as she pulled back, watching her grin that grin I like so much, before she turned away and began walking to the kitchen table, where Spencer had his head in a bowl that he was cradling in his arms, his face red, Carly sitting next to him, patting his shoulder in a comforting manner. Nothing was broken, that much I was thankful for....but my mind drifted back to what Sam just said. I was staring at her again.

But this time, she turned and saw, and merely giggled as she turned back around and began rummaging through Carly's fridge, in search of--what else--ham. My eyes were still wide and my jaw felt like it was touching the ground. Either she meant it, or she was just playing a sick, cruel joke on me.

Oh, why did I have to like Sam all of a sudden!? Why couldn't we go back to hating each other like we said we would after the kiss? Well, now that I think about about it, it looks like she has....but me? No. I just **had** to start developing feelings for Sam that weren't hatred and disdain. What if she didn't even like me back? Then I'd look like the biggest idiot this side of Seattle. Me. Freddie Benson, tech wiz and nerd to all who know me. Her. Samantha Puckett, naturally vicious and scary to everyone who's ever crossed her path. We hated each other, we insulted each other, we pulled pranks on each other....

And here I am, falling for the girl. Hard. I need a Peppy Cola. This is gonna be a long, bumpy ride...

**AN: Aw, poor Freddie's conflicted! What's he gonna do? We'll see when I finish the next chapter xD. And on a quick note, for those of you who follow my Power Ranger stories, don't worry, I'm not dropping them all! I'm still working on them all, so no need to fret! Read and review, everyone, and I'll be your friend! :D**


	2. He's so lame

**AN: And here I am with the second chapter! Sorry for the semi-long wait between this one and the first, I went away with some friends for Labor Day weekend and managed to finish this chapter last night in a sleepy haze. And in case you're wondering, as you all noticed with the first chapter, it was in Freddie's POV. This chapter is in Sam's POV, and I'll continue with Carly's and Spencer's POV's about the events going on around them (while still mainly focussing on Freddie & Sam), and I'll throw in general POV's as well in later chapters. Big thanks to all of those who reviewed, favorited and put this story on their alert list. Seeing such positive feedback makes me glad I decided to do this story. =) And here we go!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly. Though it'd be cool if I did.**

Gosh, look at him. He's such a _nub_. Why do I even hang around with him? Why does Carly insist that we be civil with each other? She's a smart girl, she of all people should know that me and that dork can, and never will, be able to co-exist peacefully for however long we're 'friends.' Everything about him is so stupid. His hair. His clothes. His crazy mother. His love of techno geek stuff. His dumb tick baths and cloud block cream. He's just so....lame.

And yet I can't stop thinking about him.

The way his hair gets messed up whenever I give him a noogie....his smile whenever something funny happens....his laugh....his face whenever I give him a wedgie or punch him....the dirty looks he gives me when I make fun of him....those eyes and the way they can penetrate my tough outer shell without him knowing....his clairvoyance...ugh! I'm coo coo for Freddie Benson. Coo coo, I tell ya! I haven't felt this way about anyone or anything since, well...since I found about the wonders of ham, Fat Cakes and beef jerky all those years ago. I can't explain it, nor do I want to...I'm way too lazy right now, and that'd require a lot of thinking for me to do. The one thing I do know right now though, is this.

I'm pretty sure I'm seriously crushing on the dork. Me, the one who beats him up every day and tortures him nonstop....liking him! Gah, maybe it's all in my head. Maybe I'm just imagining all those things I said. And besides, how could I possibly like Freddie over ham or Fat Cakes or beating up Gibby? That's like....impossible!

"Sam, you there? Sam? Hellooooooo, earth to Sam, do you read? Sam, pay attention!"

I'm taken out of my daze to see Carly standing in front of me, waving her hand in my face and snapping her fingers repeatedly, pouting a little bit, while Freddie has taken her previous position of rubbing his hand on Spencer's shoulder as he...yeah. Bad things happen when you don't pay attention to a football flying at your face.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry Carls, just too busy enjoying this delicious ham. Spaced out for a sec, you know how I am whenever I'm eating."

She nods her head and mouths 'Oh, alright', before smiling and walking past me to the fridge that I previously just raided to grab her and Freddie a Peppy Cola. I'd ask for one but I stole a couple of bucks out of Gibby's wallet before school ended and bought myself a few of them from the store on the way here. I'm as pepped up as you would want a girl to be.

"Spencer, are you going to be alright by yourself down here while the three of us go upstairs and start brainstorming ideas for the next iCarly? Do you need anything before we go?"

"I can't feel the right side of my face."

Freddie cringes while Carly frowns and pats her older brother on the head. I remain silent, mainly due to the giant slab of ham I'm still in the process of devouring.

"I'm sorry, Spence! I didn't mean to throw it that hard, man. Honest!"

"It's alright, Freddo....I'll be fine once my face stops feeling like a submarine ran over it repeatedly."

"Um...subs don't have wheels, dude", I say, a small grin on my lips.

"I DON'T CARE!"

And with that, the three of us shake our heads and chuckle to ourselves while we scurry up the steps to the studio where our weekly magic is created. Me and Carly took our usual places on the plush beanbag seats in the middle of the room, while Freddie walked behind his tech cart and pulled up the site, checking our viewer ratings and comments probably. Wow, I never realized till now how cute he is when he's focused on....whoooooooah. That needs to stop. Just think, Puckett...you want to kiss him, not punch him....wait.....ACK!

"So ladies, what do you suggest we start off with this week?", he asked, face buried behind his computer screen. Carly was about to answer when I jumped in, like always.

"Hey, why don't you leave that to us and say nothing, seeing as we're the hosts of the show and you're just the camera geek, okay dipthong?"

I was hoping he'd say something back or at least _appear_ to be annoyed that I'd just randomly insulted him yet again, because lord knows I need him to do that so that I could suppress these weird feelings I have at the moment. Nothing better than getting rid of them than insulting the dork at the center! But then my hopes sank when I saw him look up from behind his computer, blank expression on his face, before shrugging his shoulders and going back to his work behind the scenes. I gave Carly a look that asked what his deal was, but she didn't have an answer either; she merely did what he did, and shrugged her shoulders before deciding to answer his previous question.

"We could try the toe wrestling challenge that Sam brought up last week. Sam?"

"I'm down with that, Carly. What about you, Freddifer? Is that sanitary and clean enough for you?"

"It's fine, Sam. I like that idea, Carly. The fans will get a kick out of that. Then what should we do?"

The meeting went on for a few hours, the three of us thinking of various skits and games to play, and of course, it wouldn't of been complete if I hadn't shot down about half of Freddie's lame ideas, even if he did come up with some that for some reason Carly thought should be used. I mean, she nearly let him do his little tech time segment, for pete's sake! At the end though, we had our next show set up, and the two of them knew what that meant.

"Mama's hungry, so if either of you need me, I'll be downstairs looking for some more ham", I said with conviction as I reached for the door knob and was halfway out the door when Carly spoke.

"Um, Sam, we're going to Groovy Smoothie, remember? It's our ritual after rehearsal?", she said with a hint of a giggle in her tone as she stood up off her bean bag chair and walked over towards me to grab her coat, Freddie following closely behind. All it takes is one look at his face and I can tell that he's lost in 'I like Carly land'. I roll my eyes, thinking of something to say on the fly, but for once, when it comes to this subject, I'm speechless. It's like I want to say something, but that darn feeling in the pit of my stomach won't allow me. I think that feeling wishes it were....me he was looking at like that? Okay seriously, this stuff needs to stop. Freddie. Is. A. **DORK!** And therefore, I cannot possibly like him. Right?

Ugh....

"Aha, I was just testing you, Carls. Do you really think I'd forget all about our after-rehearsal trips to my favorite place ever?"

"I thought this was your favorite place ever?"

"It would be if you guys had a smoothie making machine, so therefore, it has to settle for second place. Now c'mon, let's go!"

As we were walking out, I let Carly go ahead and told her that I'd catch up, purposely staying behind so I could talk to the nub and see what his deal is. I snuck up behind him as he was shutting his computer off and putting his cart in the corner where he usually keeps it, tapping him on the shoulder. I got a good laugh out of watching him jump out of his skin, only to see that it was yours truly behind him.

"What do you want, Sam? You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Aw, really? I was kinda hoping for cardiac arrest..."

"Do you even know what cardiac arrest _IS?!?_"

"Benson, do I ever pay attention in health class? You should know, I use you as my shield so that Mr. Nelson doesn't yell at me when I fall asleep!"

"Regardless, how did you....ahh, off topic! What do you want, Puckett?"

He's giving me his best pissed off glare, and it takes everything in me to not laugh as he tries to act tough. He folds his arms across his chest and impatiently begins to tap his foot on the ground, expecting me to wow him with some well thought out reasoning for why I'm bugging him at the moment. Pfft. Who's he think I am, someone that pays attention in school?

"What's been your problem the past few weeks, dork? You don't fight back when I insult you, you just take any beating I give you without a word, and you've been acting all spacey and distant. Something up that I should know about?"

He shifts in his position a little uncomfortably, dropping his arms and lowering his eyes to his feet, as if there's something interesting on the ground for him to look at. His gaze remained there for a few seconds, a conflicted look on his face, like he was toying with the idea of opening up to me or just telling me that it's nothing to worry about. What a dweeb. He's so not good at hiding his feelings. When he's got his anti-bacterial undies in a twist like this, he shows it _so_ bad. But I'll humor him this time, just to see what he says. If he opens up though, it'll be to Carly or Spencer, so I don't see why I'm even bothering with this. Oh well, first time for everything, I guess. He's taking a deep breath and that usually means he's got something to get off his chest.

"There's nothing up, Sam. I've just got a lot of stuff related to school that's taking precedence in my mind, and if I get all weird or whatever when you insult me or attack me, then my bad."

"Oh come on Benson, don't cop me out on that crap. I know there's something bugging you, why don't you just tell me so you save us both the trouble?"

"Sam, really, it's alright. Everything will be back to normal soon, so there's no need to worry."

"Benson, seriously, shut up and talk. Believe it or not, I'll listen. If it makes you feel better and makes you go back to insulting and hating me whenever I do something to you, then I'll swallow my pride and hear what you have to say."

Freddie's face falls, and he looks like he's just been kicked in the gut repeatedly. Was it something I said? Honestly, for the first time in, like, ever, I feel....kinda bad? Oh wow. Maybe I should lay off all the beef jerky, it's gotta be messing with my mind!

"Sam, for the last time, everything is ok. You can stop pretending like you care about my feelings or what's up with me, alright? I'm going to be fine, and we can go back to...uh, back to hating each other real soon. That sound good to you?"

And for some reason, it doesn't feel good. Hating Freddie is as normal to me as sleeping in class, breaking someone's fingers or raiding Carly's fridge are. Yet, I don't feel the same satisfaction in hating Freddie that I usually do nowadays. I don't know why, either. I can't be developing feelings for the little dweeb. I just can't. They start swirling around in my stomach and if I don't get them out, I might spew them to the dork and feel like the biggest moron in all of Seattle. So I do what I do best. I put on a facade.

"Whatever, you jerk. See if I ever try to reach out to you and be a friend again. I don't care what you're feeling or thinking right now. Bye", I say, putting on a mask of anger as I storm by him, not before punching him with all my force in his shoulder, hearing him let out a yelp of pain as I walk out the door and slam it behind me, leaving the nub all to himself.

Right now, I should be angry. And I feel as if I'm doing a good job pretending to hate him right now (what can I say, Carly taught me how to be a wonderful actress), but I still can't. I know it sounds like I'm repeating myself over and over, but I just don't understand how someone like me, the 'H.B.I.C.', as someone put it before I re-arranged their face, could ever like....him. They say that in some cases, opposites attract.

But really, could two people as totally and completely different like myself and Fredward ever get along in a relationship?

"What can I get for you, Sam?"

Wow, time flew by fast. Here we are, the three of us, bundled up in our coats (it's cold as heck right now, it's only 7:00 and it's the spring!), in line at Groovy Smoothie. What a dumb question that is. I'm here enough, everyone should know what I want! Like, duh!

"Large berry bonanza blitz, no whipped cream. C'mon Ida, I practically live here when I'm not at Carly's, you should know simple stuff like that by now!"

The woman rolls her eyes from behind the counter and sighs, turning around to bark orders at the people making the wonderful concoctions in the background. I'm not paying much attention to what Carls and Freddweeb are talking about, just waiting for my lovely smoothie to be presented to me in all it's fruity and delicious glory. Just one problem, like always....

"Alright Sam, that'll be $3.50."

Crap. Why didn't I ask Carly to borrow some money before we left? Heck, why didn't I steal more out of Gibby's wallet at school!? Gosh, I'm so darn forgetful sometimes! Muttering a response to Ida, I begin to frantically search for money, I look down at the counter where my smoothie is and see a five dollar bill there. Wow, I can make money magically appear now!? That's so....not possible. Where'd the cash come from?

"Here, that should cover it. Keep the change."

That dork! I knew it was him! As I turn to face him, he's already got his own face in mine, and he leans into my ear to whisper something. Oh, I wish he'd do this more often....ahhh, dang it, not again!

"You know how you asked me if there was anything up with me, Sam? There is. What you said to me before we went up to the studio....about maybe you being a girly girl underneath? Maybe I'd like to see you prove it."

He then walks away, no grin, no smirk, no small chuckle, nothing of the sort. Grabbing my smoothie, I see Carly give him another odd look, and he shrugs his shoulders again.

The boy is so lame....he's a mystery to me.

A mystery that I desperately want to find out.

**AN: And that's it! What does Sam have to say to that? What's really wrong with Freddie? What does Carly think about this? And what will happen with Spencer? We'll just have to see in the next chapter, from Carly's POV. And on a little side note, I had Sam and the people the Groovy Smoothie be on a first name basis because, I figured in the show that they visit it alot, so they would know everyone that works there. That's all, see ya next time! Read and review, and you'll make my day. Thanks! =)**


	3. iWonder

**AN: Hey everyone, what's good? Here's the 3rd chapter (already!) I was planning on waiting a day or two to begin writing this, but after I was hit with a burst of inspiration, I decided to start early and here it is. And of course, that inspiration came from, what else, watching iCarly. Alright, so now that we've got Sam and Freddie's POV's out of the way, it's time for, who else, Carly and her POV. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I hope those who read it enjoy it as well. And again, big thanks to everyone who has reviewed and added this story to their favorites/alert list. Without such positive feedback, I wouldn't be writing this. So here we go!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly. Though I wish I had Jerry Trainor's hair. It's awesome.**

Alright, I don't know what's going on with Freddie, but if he keeps it up, he _has_ to realize that I'm gonna pester him until he tells me what his deal is. I mean, he's been acting so off lately, it's like a whole new Freddie! I feel like I barely know him now, and I've been best friends with him since the second grade! Every time Sam says something to him, he just acts like it's nothing, and he never, never, _**ever**_ used to do that! He'd always...wait. Am I speaking to myself inside my own head?

Oh my gosh, this is so cool! I can hear my own voice inside my brain! Lalalala! Boo! Haha, wow, this is awesome! Why haven't I done this before!? This is like, such a great way to zone out and not pay attention to anything boring or suckish in school! I need to tell Spencer about this! He'll love--....

Way to go, Shay. _Way_ to get off topic. There's a pressing matter going on here and you're goofing off by yelling random noises in your head! Come on, Carly, pay attention to what's going on between your friends! Freddie's not acting like himself, and it's freaking me out. I want my old Freddie back, the one who would match Sam insult for insult until I had to stop them from bickering with a high pitched scream or the spray bottle. I want the Freddie who would say something to Sam and then run like a little girl before she started whaling on him before I broke that up as well. I want the Freddie who is (was?) hopelessly in love with me. What happened to him? This new Freddie's just....well, he's still really nice and a great friend...but it's like his usual spark has gone missing.

I'm so gonna find out why he's acting so weird like this.

"So, rehearsal was very good tonight, don't you think, guys?"

Sam grunts her response, as she's too consumed with slurping her smoothie down, but not before she gives Freddie 'the eye', as I like to call it. What he did was really sweet, and while I can tell that she's ok with it, at the same time, she's not so ok with it. Freddie smiles back, shrugging his shoulders at Sam's steely glare, giving me his answer after tearing his eyes off of Sam's...._unique_ smoothie drinking habits.

"It was, Carly. Very good. This week's webcast is gonna be awesome!"

"You know what'd be awesome?

"Sam...."

"What'd be awesome is if you were strung up from the flagpole by your underwear, nerd."

Ugh, not again. I used to tell Sam all the time that it's not nice to be an instigator, but I realize now that that's just Sam, and it'll never change. I wouldn't want it to, either; that's why I love her so much. But the things she puts Freddie through are inhumane sometimes. I don't know how he's still alive after all the abuse he's taken from her over the years. And there he goes again, not responding, rolling his eyes and shrugging his shoulders. Aw, come on, Freddie! Say something back! Please? So things can go back to normal?

"Whatever, Sam."

Not the response I was expecting....

"Guys....come on now, don't argue here, we're in public. Can we at least wait until we get back to my apartment?"

"Hm...nah, sorry Carls, I kinda feel like it's time for my nightly 'rag on Freddie' routine."

So then Sam proceeded to insult Freddie nonstop, and he didn't say anything in return. He just continued to shrug his shoulders, sip on his smoothie and mutter either 'Whatever', or 'Ok Sam', over and over and over. It was really kind of uncomfortable for me, but every time I tried to get Sam to stop, she'd just come back, even more vicious than she was a few moments ago. Finally, right when I thought it was too much to deal with and was about to yell at the two of them, Freddie got up, threw his empty smoothie into the garbage, and picked up his bag. He gave me an apologetic look before briefly gazing in Sam's direction, that apologetic look now replaced with no emotion at all. Wait, where's he going.....?

"Well, it's been fun, but I gotta go home and help my mom out around the house. We're placing plastic over the furniture and spraying disinfectant all over the place...go ahead and laugh. Bye, Carly. See ya tomorrow."

And then he left. Straight up, just walked out, didn't look back, and went home. I didn't care if his excuse was lame or not (because it _totally_ was). Who does he think he is, ignoring Sam like that! You can't ignore Sam!!! Speaking of her, gazing at her through my peripherals, she had a mixture of emotions on her face as I fully looked at her. She was gripping her smoothie with all her might, like it was ready to explode out of the styrofoam cup and spill all over the table at any moment. She looked angry and upset at the same time. What did she say to Freddie before we came here? What did he say to her when he paid for her smoothie? Why am I asking myself these questions!?

"Sam....are you alright? What's going on between you and Freddie?"

She lifts her chin up and looks at me in the eyes, and for once, it looks like Sam's....vulnerable. Like she wants to cry. I've only seen Sam cry like maybe five times the entire five and a half years we've been best friends. I'll be the first to tell you that Sam Puckett does not cry. **At all**. I scoot over and sit next to her, putting my arm around her shoulder, letting her know that I'm here for her if she wants to talk.

"Sam? You know you can talk to me, right?"

She solemnly nods her head in response, but doesn't do much after that. Something really serious must be going on between her and Freddie. I mean, ever since the night where she apologized to him for almost ruining his life with the whole 'never had a real first kiss' thing, the two of them have been acting....well, I'm shocked to say it, but they've been acting more....civil towards each other. Nice isn't the right term, but there's been less bickering back and forth between them, and heck, Freddie's just even stopped his half of the arguing. Heck, before tonight, the two of them were actually acting like friends! Gosh, they're my two best friends in the whole world and I feel like I'm being left out of the loop here. Well, time to fix that!

"C'mon, Sam. You wanna go back to the apartment and talk about it? We can have ribs and ham and everything you like. You wanna do that?"

"I dunno, Carly....", she muttered, her first spoken words since Freddie left. Her eyes are trained on the door, like she's waiting for Freddie to come back, but sadly, it looks like he isn't. "I'm not, uh...feeling up to hanging out right now. I'm kinda tired, I think I might just go home."

Alright, _I know_ there's something up with Sam when she says she'd rather go home than come back to my place and eat ham and ribs. Something wrong, I tell ya! But she looks like she's in one of her phases where if you try getting her to do something, and you can tell she's in a bad mood, she's gonna punch your lights out without any hesitation at all. Thankfully she'd never do that to me, because, you know, I know my limits when it comes to my best friend!!!

"Are you sure Sam? You know I don't mind you sleeping over as much as you want, and neither does Spencer. I know how things are back at your home and everything..."

"Thanks Carly, but um, I'm just gonna go home. I need to uh, get my head straight and just get some sleep, it's been a long day. I'll talk to you tomorrow at school. Bye."

She hugs me tightly and then walks off, out the door, a very sad look upon her face as she exits and walks in the opposite direction of Bushwell Plaza. Sitting there, by myself, slowly sipping my smoothie that I don't want anymore, I wish I knew what the heck was going on. Why is Freddie acting this way? And why is Sam suddenly becoming all sad and sullen and...un-Sam like? It's frustrating and making me feel all sad inside too. I need to fix this....fast!

"You want a pickle?"

"No, I don't, thank you."

"You sure you don't want a pickle?"

"I already said no, thank you."

"You su--"

"NO, I DON'T WANT A PICKLE!"

"Well **SUE ME** for thinkin'--"

"Yeah yeah, that all pickles and smoothies can live together in peace, love and harmony. Well news flash buddy, **THEY CAN'T**!"

Ugh....I need to talk to Spencer. He'll know what to say....I hope. As I reach into my purse and grab my phone, hastily checking the time, I notice the bagel/pickle/weird food man (I think Spencer said his name was T-Bo) waving his stick of pickles frantically and muttering to himself about how 'nobody wants to buy a darn pickle' and how 'he hates his job sometimes'. Aaaand now my conscience is kicking in. Aww, darn, why do I have to feel bad for him now? I have best friend problems to talk to my older brother about!! But I guess it'd be nice to take him up on his offer...if anything, he's persistent and a good pitchman (I think). And who knows, maybe Spencer would enjoy a pickle or two after getting his face smashed by that football earlier.

"Um...excuse me?"

"Oh, and what do _YOU_ want?"

"Listen, I'm sorry if I upset you before, I just wanted make it up to you. I'll take a couple of pickles, please."

I can see that he wasn't expecting that, as his facial expression goes from that of irritated to shocked, his jaw dropping slightly, like he can't believe I just said that. Heck, I can't believe I just said it, but it's the right thing to do. Nonetheless, I hand him a five dollar bill and smile warmly as he goes about giving me the pickles, putting them in a plastic bag and then stuffing them into a paper bag.

"Thank you very much. You can keep the change. It's another way of saying that I'm sorry. Have a nice night!"

He doesn't say anything, he just nods his head in response, gives me a brief smile and waves goodbye before I exit and begin my walk back to the apartment, where hopefully Spencer is awake and able to deal with my sure to be problem and my frantic-ness. As I enter the building, I see Lewbert sitting behind his desk, looking as angry as ever, reading a magazine about...wart removals. Eww, gross much!? Maybe if I walk quietly he won't notice me....

"AHHHH! I JUST CLEANED THE FLOOR TWO MINUTES AGO!! AHHHHH!"

So much for those invisible ninja lessons Sam gave me paying off. Running past him and up the stairs, I can hear his screams echoing throughout the building, even as I reach my front door. I glance over my shoulder at Freddie's front door, and for a second, part of me is tempted to knock his door down and confront him, to find out why he's been behaving this way and ignoring Sam. But I know that in the state of mind he's in right now, he'd make me work harder than I usually have to to get an answer out of him. So I pass on it, open my door, and laugh inwardly to myself to see that Spencer is right where I left him; face in a bowl, lying on the kitchen table, apparently not having moved an inch since we all went to Groovy Smoothie.

"Spence, I'm home. Are you feeling any better?", I ask innocently, knowing what kind of answer I'll be getting.

"Carlyyyyyyy....."

Yep, just what I was expecting. Ahh, I love my older brother.

"It's alright, Spencer, Carly's here and she brings one of your favorite foods ever...who wants pickles??"

For what feels like the first time in forever, he sits up and discards the bowl from his head, looking at me with that goofy smile of his. His face was still a little red and there was a faint sign of a shiner under his right eye, but other than that, he was looking alright. And that's good, because a pain-free Spencer is a happy Spencer, and a happy Spencer will always listen to his distressed little sister and her best friend problems.

"Carly, you know me too well! I see that T-Bo finally managed to convince you to get some pickles. How'd that go?"

"I didn't get any at first, I was too busy thinking about the craziness going on around me. We got into an argument and then I felt bad, and I realized that he's only doing his job, so I went and got some. He didn't even say anything, he just smiled and waved as I left."

"You, little sis, just made a friend in him. Don't be surprised if you get free pickles and bagles every time you go there."

"That's cool....I guess. Anyways, Spence, I don't know how to say this in a calm manner but, um.....I HAVE A PROBLEM!!"

My shriek spooked him and caused him to drop one of his pickles, which gave way to a sad look on his face as he looked at his dropped choice of food. But then he grinned madly and picked it back up and shoved it in his mouth, happily chewing it down like nothing was wrong, noticing my weird look before swallowing.

"What? You've never heard of the five second rule, Carls?"

"Off topic! I need to talk to you, Spencer!"

"Alright then, talk to me. What's wrong, sis?"

I contemplated my words for a moment, practicing them quickly in my mind. How could I break the news to Spencer? How would he react? Would he even care? Of course he'd care, he's Spencer! I'm his little sister, of course he'd help me out! I paced around the living room for a few moments, feeling my brother's gaze watch me everywhere I stepped. After a few more moments of thinking of what to say, I just decided to throw it all out there and see how he would react.

"There's something weird going on between Freddie and Sam, Spence...it's freaking me out!"

"Well, what do you think is up between them?"

I couldn't hold it in anymore. It just had to be said. So I did what I do best. I screamed it out.

"I THINK FREDDIE AND SAM LIKE EACH OTHER!"

Spencer's eyes grow wide, like wider than usual when something like this comes along. He says nothing, and neither do I; the silence envelopes us and everything in the entire room.

And now, the fun begins.....

**AN: And that's the end! Has Carly finally figured out? We'll see! What does Spencer have to say? (Remember, next chapter is from his POV). Is Sam going to take Freddie up on his offer? Does Freddie realize what he's doing to his two best friends, acting the way he is? Why does Lewbert want his wart removed? Who knows! You'll all find out next chapter :). Read and review, and I'll love you all forever. Thanks, see ya next time!**


	4. Where'd I put my ostrich?

**AN: Hey everyone, I'm back! Tonight's the big night! Finally, we get to see "iThink They Kissed", and hopefully, it's as good as everyone (myself included) is expecting it to be, but I'm sure it'll be awesome. Anyways, here's the fourth chapter, with Spencer's POV on the events going on in the group. I did my best to portray Spencer's spontaneous and hilarity into everything I wrote here, so I hope that everyone enjoys the effort I put forth. Again, I cannot thank you all who have reviewed, favorited or added the story to their alert list enough. Thank you all, you're all great and I really appreciate the feedback. Well enough with my rambling here, on with the story! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own iCarly. Though I wish I did.**

Alright, so I'm pretty sure of two things right now. One, Carly's having some sort of nervous/mental breakdown, so that means lots and lots of Girly Cow, hot chocolate and peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. And two, I knew it! I knew that those two secretly had a thing for each other! I mean, how could they not? Carly may not have noticed it, and Freddo and Sam can deny, deny, deny, but me? I may not be the sharpest tool in the box, but even I could figure out that Carly's two best friends liked each other, through all the insults and beatings and whatnot. I thought it was actually kinda cute.

My sister, however, probably thought it was the apocalypse. Could you blame her, though? She's best friends with those two, so she knows how they are more than anyone. They're polar opposites. Oil and water. Diamonds and coal. White and black. Art and dental work...I would know about that. Snapping out of my trance, I see my little sis pacing back and forth in the living room, muttering stuff like, 'It's impossible', and 'They can't do that!'.

Well, apparently they _can_ like each other....

"Carls, calm down. It's nothing big. So your best frie--"

"Don't **EVER** tell me to calm down when it comes to something like this!"

I retract the hand that I was going to use to comfort her, my eyes wide as I drop it by my side and look at her continue to pace a hole in the floor. Man, she was taking this hard.

"Carls, listen. I understand that this revelation may have you freaked and everything, but what if they don't like each other? What if it's all in your head?", I said, lying to myself. I wanted to tell her what I thought about the whole thing, but I figured that it'd be best if she figured out the truth about those two on her own.

"It does, Spencer! Sam and Freddie can't like each other, they're mortal enemies! How can he like her after all she's done to him? How can she like him for being such a techie!? It's impossible!"

Yeah, she really was taking it hard. Harder than that football to my face. Which reminds me, I need to start practicing if I wanna be the first ever dual football player/sculpter! I can see it now...._'Spencer Shay, multi-talented mega star!'_ My name in lights...ahh, my beautiful face all over the billboards in Seattle...I'd be as famous as Skybucks Coffee!

"Spencer!! Pay attention! I'm still going crazy over here!"

That got me out of my little dream land....I didn't even get to kiss the beautiful European swimsuit model yet. Darn it.

"Alright Carly, let's get to the bottom of this. When we're done, we can watch movies all night, drink hot chocolate till we can't drink anymore, and eat all the PB & J sandwiches in the world. Whaddya say?"

That seems to calm her down a little bit, as some form of a smile is now upon her lips. Guiding her over to the couch, we sit down, my hands placed firmly on her shoulders as I begin to analyze everything in this touchy subject.

"So tell me, Carls, when did you start noticing some change between Freddo & Sammy?"

"Since when did you become a psychiatrist?", she asks with a bit of a laugh, and my face grows stony and serious. "Sorry...", she quickly mutters.

"C'mon sis, when did you notice all this happening?"

"Well, you remember how Sam said that Freddie had never had a real first kiss on iCarly like a month or two ago, right?", she asks timidly, my head nodding in response.

"Yeah, I remember that. Pretty bad time for the three of you, but you all got through it with flying colors. Get it, flying colors?"

She gives me this weird look, like I've grown another head. I lower my singular head and look to the ground. Another bad joke by yours truly, Spencer Shay! _*cue failure sound*_

"Because you know....I use paint and splatter it....because, ALRIGHT, so what about that?"

"Well, the night that she apologized to him out on the fire escape, when she came back here, she was acting all....different. Like she had done something, but was keeping it from me. I didn't press the subject, but I think I should have. She told me that she had apologized, he accepted it, they hugged and that was the end of it."

"Do you think something else might have happened out on the fire escape when Sam went there to see Freddie?", I ask, trying to probe my sister and see what I can get out of her.

"Yeah...no. I mean, if something happened, one or both of them would have told me, right? I mean, we're all best friends with each other, we don't keep secrets. They would have told me if they had done something."

"You think they kissed each other, don't you."

Her eyes grow wide with fear, like the time Gibby and the rest of the kids from her school savagely attacked the lady from Briarwood, looking for the mystical purple golf ball that still, to this day, hasn't been found. But I bet it's here somewhere....

"That is not what I think!"

"Carly, I'm your older brother, you can tell me what you're thinking. You know I won't judge you or get mad."

"THEY WOULD HAVE TOLD ME IF THEY KISSED!"

"So you_ do_ think that they kissed!"

"They're both gonna hear it from me if it's true! It can't be! Sam and Freddie....kissing!? AHHH! That's impossible!"

She gets up off the couch and runs towards the stairs leading to her room and the studio. She turns back to face me, a weird look on her face as she does so.

"Thanks for talking with me Spence, but I gotta...I gotta make sense of this all. They COULDN'T HAVE! They would have **TOLD ME**!!"

And just like that, Carly Shay has left the building. I can't help but chuckle to myself in regards to the whole situation. Personally, I think it's kinda cute that Freddie and Sam are developing feelings for each other that aren't hatred and scorn. It was bound to happen eventually, with the way the two of them constantly are at odds with one another. I bet they'd also be the first to deny it, but that's just how it always is when two people who shouldn't like each other really do.

Above me, I hear something fall to the floor, and at first, I think that Carly's hurt herself, and my brotherly instinct wants to kick in and see what's up, but then I hear her scream something about how her two best friends madly like each other and how that shouldn't be happening. Shrugging my shoulders, I still can't help but laugh at the whole situation. Freddie and Sam. My sister's two best friends in the whole wide world, one of them straight laced and super smart, the other vicious but incredibly loyal. Crazy, I know! But love is a strange thing....almost as strange as my socks....but my socks are awesome too, it's all good.

"Hmm...I should probably take a shower....I could use a new idea for a sculpture....or should I train....CARLY!!"

She's the smart one between the two of us, so why not ask her? But I get no response, instead, just her feet walking back and forth on her floor before she came bounding down the stairs to look me in the face, one of my trademark goofy smiles plastered all over my lips. I can tell she's not in the mood for me and my shenanigans, but meh....

"Hey Carls, wanna help me think of some ideas for a new sculpture and then help me train tomorrow for the football team?"

She gives me this stern glare, like I'm interrupting her or stepping on all her favorite clothes. Huh. Sam must of taught her how to glare like that. Kinda scary, before I realize it's my loveable--Oh my gosh she's grabbing my arm and twisting it in ways it shouldn't be twisted!

"Carly, that's my ARM! What're you _DOING_!?"

"You know something, don't you!"

What? What's this something I know about? If she thinks I threw the rest of the milk out, I have a perfectly good reason for that! Maybe she found out that the hot water isn't working right now....crap, what if she found out that I've been secretly getting goldfish behind her back!? Then I'm screwed, and believe me folks, you _do not_ want to be on the recieving end of one of Carly's tantrums.

"Carls, what're you--"

"You know something about Sam and Freddie, I know you do! Tell me! Tell me or I'll keep twisting your arm until it falls off!"

"Ow! Did Sam teach you this!?"

"Yes, why!?"

"You're doing a wonderful job. I'm sure she'd be proud of YOU, OW!"

"What do you know about Sam and Freddie that I don't!?!?"

"Carly, I don't know anything about them liking each other, alright!? Sheesh, they're your best friends, they talk to you about everything!? I'm just the crazy older brother who looks at them as family almost, sculpts and has a pet ostrich.....speaking of which, where did I--OW!"

"Tell me!"

Alright, I didn't want to have to do this, but she's giving me no choice. And I'd very much like the use of my right arm in the future, so here goes nothing. Hopefully she'll take this well. And I can't stress the word _hopefully _enough.

"Okay then....I don't actually know anything, Carls...but I've been thinking to myself over the past few months, whenever the three of you are over here and all, I can't help but notice how Freddie and Sam act around each other. One minute they're all cool and friendly with each other, the next they're insulting each other back and forth before you break it up and tell them to behave and act nice. That was the first sign. The second sign was apparent if you just watched their eyes, little sis."

"What do you mean, watched their eyes?"

"I mean exactly what I said. If you saw the way Freddie would look at Sam when she wasn't looking, it was like he was lost in his own world. Kinda like the look he'd always give you when he was crushing on you. And Sam, when she stares at him, she bites her lips and her eyes kinda gloss over, almost as if she's dreaming about him. It's all in the eyes, Carly."

She lets go of my arm, and for that, I'm incredibly thankful, I'm pretty sure she left marks there, but oh well. I can tell that she's processing this all in her mind, and finally, she lets out a huge sigh before hugging me, her tiny arms wrapped around my waist. Ah, good. Looks like sweet, innocent, nice little Carly is back...I hope.

"I'm sorry Spencer, I didn't mean to flip out like that on you. Is your arm alright?"

"Yeah, I'll manage. And it's alright, apology accepted. There's no need to worry, Carls, I'm sure that when Freddie and Sam are ready to come to grips with their feelings for each other, they'll be better off for it. If they truly do like each other, that is."

"Yeah...for all we know, it could just be in our heads."

The two of us begin to laugh before she yawns and looks at the clock on the wall, checking the time.

"Oh wow, look at the time. I should probably head to sleep. Again, I'm sorry for acting like a brat tonight, it's just....you can imagine how hard it would be for me to believe that what I think about Sam and Freddie was actually true."

"It's cool, sis. I understand what you're going through. Tomorrow, just invite Freddie and Sam over and talk about it with them, and I'm sure you three will be able to get through it alright."

"Yeah....that's what I'll do. Sounds like a good idea. Well, I'm gonna head off to sleep now, g'night Spencer!"

She makes her way up the stairs, but not before stopping to face me again, like she's got something to say.

"Oh and Spence?"

"Yeah, Carls?"

"Of course I'll help you train and think of a new idea for a sculpture tomorrow."

"Really? Wow, that's totally sweet!"

"Anything for the coolest older brother a little sister could ever have!"

She hugs me again and then is upstairs for good, about to go sleep and think everything over in her head. Sleep sounds pretty good right about now too. A yawn escapes my mouth as I stretch my limbs in all different directions, walking around the couch to turn the TV off, before heading towards my room.

"Hmm, I wonder where I put my excercise bar thing....**not again**!"

I say not again because I see it at my feet but I'm already tripping and falling onto the ground for the second time today. My body crashes against the floor with a thud, and I just lay there. Looks like I'm not sleeping in my bed tonight!

"That's where I put my ostrich! He's out...outside...."

And then sleep captures me as I'm sprawled out across the floor. I am awesome!

**AN: And that's all she wrote for chapter four! I hope you all enjoyed this look into Spencer's mind as much as I did writing it. Read and review, I'll be your best buddy if you do. What will happen next time? Will Carly confront Sam and Freddie? Will Spencer stop tripping over stuff and actually train for the Cobras? And what if his ostrich isn't outside? We'll all see next time. Bye for now!**


	5. Eye of the storm

**AN: Hola everyone! How are you all doing? Sorry for the semi long wait (at least for me) between chapters, been busy with school work and football season being back and all, and now hockey too, so yeah, I've been a bit busy! But don't think I haven't forgotten about this story and all the faithful readers/reviewers, because I haven't! Again, I can't thank you all enough for being so kind to take the time to read and review the story, it really means a lot to me. Well, that's about all I've got to say here, so without further adieu, here's chapter five of Truth & Consequences! Hope you all enjoy it! (One last quick note; this chapter's from a general POV, for those of you who are wondering. Don't worry, I'll be getting back to character based POV's soon, just figured I had to throw a gen POV in there once in a while =] )**

**Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly. My name's not Dan.**

It had been raining hard last night, and it continued into today, casting a bleak and dreary tone over Ridgeway High. Carly kept her eyes fixed on the outside, watching the rain fall from the gray skies, smacking up against the window, forming puddles everywhere. What she _should_ of been doing was paying attention to the lesson that Ms. Briggs was trying to teach the class, but she wasn't. She didn't want to, and she felt she didn't need to...for once, Carly Shay actually didn't care about a class or the lesson at hand. To her, the lesson was meaningless. Her mind was elsewhere for a reason.

Sam hadn't shown up to school today, as evidenced by the empty seat next to her, instead opting to text Carly and tell her that she would just meet her and Freddie at her apartment after school got out, stressing in the text that she had a big surprise for the two of them. Carly briefly wondered what the big surprise was before that thought was pushed onto the back burner, like every other thought that had swam through Carly's head, with the prevalent thoughts that had been stored in her mind ever since last Wednesday, after her, Freddie and Sam had finished rehearsing the next iCarly. She had tried talking to the two of them about the thoughts in her head, but Sam and Freddie, for better or worse, became elusive after that.

She hadn't seen them both all day on Thursday (Freddie had been on an AV Club field trip and Sam was feeling a little under the weather, which Carly correctly translated as 'I'm too lazy to get out of bed so I'm just gonna skip school'), barely saw them before school on Friday, did iCarly that night, then watched as the two of them bolted, didn't see them at all on Saturday, and only saw them both for five minutes or so when she ran into Sam by chance at the convenience store across the street from her apartment building and when she took the elevator up with Freddie to their apartments. Not only was Carly seeking more and more answers to the mounting questions in her head, but she was somewhat hurt by the fact that her two best friends were seemingly dodging and avoiding her at every turn. What had she done to deserve that? Did she say something that offended them? Were they hiding something from her? She didn't know, and it was hurtful and frustrating all at once. All she knew, for sure, was that after school, when she got both Freddie and Sam together, she was going to--

"Miss Shay, would you mind repeating what I just said aloud to the class?"

Carly shook her head, coming out of her dazed state as her eyes shifted from the rain soaked outside to the front of the classroom, where Ms. Briggs had her best smarmy, evil grin on her lips as her arms were folded across her chest, tapping her heel on the tile, waiting for an answer to a question that she knew Carly didn't have.

"Um....always remember to recycle?", Carly responded with a half shrug and cheesy smile on her lips as she hoped that Ms. Briggs would take it easy on her for once.

"No! Incorrect, Miss Shay! You are slacking!"

So much for taking it easy....

"I'm sorry Ms. Briggs, I'll keep my attention focused on the lesson at hand. I've just had a lot on my mi--"

"I don't care whether your apartment is on fire, the world is going to end, your idiot brother miraculously grew a brain or whatever! You will pay attention in my class, young woman, and you will _NOT_ back sass me! Keep up the attitude and I'll give you a week's worth of detention with your little juvenile friend Sam! Do I make myself clear, Miss Shay?"

Carly rolled her eyes and sighed, feeling that the shot at Spencer was completely unnecessary. She'd of said something back, but a week's worth of detention was not how she rolled. "Yes, Ms. Briggs. I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

The red haired woman looked pleased with what her student said before she turned her back and resumed with her lesson. But a second later, she stopped, turned back around to face Carly and gave her a puzzled look, eyebrow arched and lips pursed tight. Carly looked to her left, and then her right, even looking behind her, acting like Ms. Briggs was trying to look for someone else instead of staring right at her. "Yes, Ms. Briggs?", she asked, confusion apparent in her voice.

"Speaking of that little delinquent, where is Miss Puckett? Being thrown in jail for assaulting someone again, I assume? Or maybe she robbed another convenience store", the teacher said with such sarcasm, Carly got offended for herself and for her best friend's sake, even though she wasn't here. Now she really wanted to talk back to the evil woman badly, but she knew that it wouldn't be very lady-like and she'd get herself in even more hot water than she already was in. Swallowing her pride, biting her lip and forcing a big smile, she fired off an over-the-top, saccharine response that would have made even Mr. Howard wonder where it came from.

"I don't know, Ms. Briggs. I think Sam said that she was feeling under the weather last night when I spoke to her on the phone, and she said she probably wasn't going to be able to come in. Does that answer your question, Ms. Briggs?", the 'happiness' oozing through her tone as she sat at her desk, hands folded, smiling as bright as the lights in the room were. Ms. Briggs looked at her sassy pupil and narrowed her eyes, obviously not liking the tone that Carly had taken with her.

"I don't like your tone, Miss Shay. You have--"

Right before she could finish her sentence, however, the bell to signify the end of class rang loud and clear, and soon enough, all the kids in the class were grabbing their bags and hustling out of the room, obviously relieved that they were done with Ms. Briggs until tomorrow, where she'd surely torture them all again. Carly quickly grabbed her belongings and ran out of the room, hiding in the massive crowd of kids, avoiding whatever it was that her evil teacher was going to say to her, before finally arriving at her locker. One more period to go and then she'd finally be able to find out what the heck was going on between her two best friends.

As she twisted the lock and opened the door, she saw Freddie out of her peripherals and immediately turned her head to hide her face. She didn't want to say anything to Freddie before they got back to her apartment, for fear that she might accidentally blurt out everything that had been locked in there for almost a week. But then she turned her head slightly, to see if he was gone. _'Crap!'_ She thought to herself as she saw him walking in her direction. Maybe he wouldn't see her there, or he was going to talk to someone else, but then Carly reasoned, who else does Freddie have to talk to? His AV Club members? She heard his footsteps approaching closer and closer, and it was then that she buried her head in her locker, acting as if she was searching for something, but really just hoping Freddie wasn't going to greet her like he usually would.

And then the footsteps stopped. Carly thought that Freddie had started chatting someone else up, or that he had turned around and walked away, something, anything to avoid talking to him right now.

"Hey Carly. What's up?"

"Damn it!", Carly yelled out loud to herself, startling Freddie, who was standing off to her side, books in hand and a quizzical look on his face as he watched his friend pull her head out of her locker and give him a smile that she didn't want to give right now. It wasn't forced or anything, it's just...she really didn't want to see him until later.

"Oh, hi Freddie. Nothing, just um, getting my notebook for my last class", she stated as she pulled out her English notebook and proudly displayed it as she closed her locker and leaned up against it, her long brown hair falling onto her shoulders and covering some of her face. Freddie then began to laugh softly to himself. Carly wondered why, but then it hit her like a bag full of bricks or frozen Fat Cakes.

It was then that Carly realized that she had gym for last period every day. And now she was wanting to smack herself repeatedly for being so dumb.

"Um Carls...don't you have gym last period?", Freddie asked, still laughing, trying to act confused as to why she had out her math notebook, while Carly shot him a glare that did all the talking for her. "Sorry", he quickly muttered in response before changing the subject.

"So, what do you wanna do when we get back to your place?", he said as Carly put her notebook away and pondered his question. What were they gonna do? Oh yeah. She knew instantly, but she wasn't going to tell him. She'd let him figure it out when Sam got there later on.

"Oh, I dunno....stuff?", she said, making it sound like a question and not the answer he was seeking. "Sam said she'll be over around 3:30, so we could figure out what to do then. Maybe rehearse iCarly?"

Freddie's expression froze, and his hands, which were on the straps of his backpack, hung limply at his sides. His ears were back, lips parted open, and his eyes displayed shock, as if he had been jolted by an electrical post. Carly took note of this and arched an eyebrow, figuring that this was too good to be true. The moment he had heard Sam's name, it was as if he had been slapped repeatedly or heard someone utter a forbidden word. _"What's his deal with her?"_, Carly thought to herself as she tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, carefully studying Freddie before speaking out. She didn't want to, but his reaction all but forced her to do so.

"Freddie? Are you alright?", she asked, figuring it would be best to ease into this and see what his reaction was. When he didn't immediately respond, she knew that something was up. That's how you could tell something was bugging Freddie Benson. When he fired off a quick response to something, everything was alright. When he didn't...

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just uh, thinking about what you and I could discuss for the next iCarly."

"You mean, you, me and Sam."

"She's gonna be there? Why didn't you say so?"

What, was the boy purposely playing dumb? Carly wanted to thump him for saying that, knowing darn well that she did say that her other best friend was going to be there, with some big surprise of hers.

"I clearly did state that, Freddie. You just weren't paying attention."

"So uh....would you mind if I bummed a ride back to your place off of Spencer? My mom's got the car and she'll be working late."

Now she really wanted to thump him for his ignorance and stupidity. And Carly knew he wasn't stupid either! He was the smartest one out of the three of them, and now it was as if he had taken his brain and flushed it down the toilet before he came to school today. His behavior was driving Carly crazy, but to her credit, she did a very good job of keeping a straight face. Revealing her frustration with him would of only caused him to act even dumber than he was right now, and Carly didn't need that at the moment.

"Yeah, that shouldn't be a problem, Freddie. I guess I'll see you here after the last bell rings, then?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, totally! Can't wait to discuss iCarly! See ya soon, Carls!"

And with that, Freddie turned on his heel and speed walked away from Carly, his destination being his history class....that he usually had with Sam. The same class that the two of them would usually get paired up in to do group assignments. The same class where she made him do most of the work. The same class that they actually got along with each other in.

The same class that Sam had walked out of last Friday afternoon feeling enraged and emotionally distraught. Carly sighed as she heard the warning bell ring, before she started moving towards the gym for class. If anything, she knew one thing about what was going to happen at her apartment when she got there with Freddie and Sam arrived.

It was going to be a long rest of the day.

--------------------------------

Last period had come and gone faster than Carly or Freddie could have expected, and soon after, they met up, said little to each other, and were picked up by Spencer, en route to Carly's apartment. They arrived in the parking lot, right as the rain outside became torrential and louder than it had been a few moments prior. As they got out of the car, Spencer, deciding that it should be his responsibility to break the ice and end the uncomfortable silence that had enveloped them since Freddie and Carly had gotten into the car, clapped his hands and jumped in front of them as they were walking towards the door that led to the lobby. That big, goofy smile that he was known for was back, like it had been surgically grafted onto his face.

"So Carly, Freddo, how was school? Boring? That's jank. Wanna help me train and sculpt at the same time? I'm putting together a giant replica Cobra's helmet for the team to come out of before every home game! It's so--where's Sam?", he suddenly said, changing topics so fast that it caught the kids off guard as they looked to each other for a brief moment before Freddie looked at his shoes, as if his shoe laces had become so interesting while Carly readjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder.

"Sam skipped school today, she said that she'd meet us here, and she said she had some big surprise for me and Freddie, but I don't see why you can't see what it is as well, Spence", Carly answered honestly, ignoring Freddie's head swiftly jolt upwards, his face riddled with confusion and anxiousness, and it was there that Carly mentally ridiculed herself for leaving Freddie out of that little secret. Oh well, she reasoned. He'd of probably played dumb if she had told him anyways.

"You're still on the football kick, huh Spence?", Freddie said timidly, his eyes remaining on his shoes as the three of them walked in without any threats or screams from Lewbert, opting to take the elevator up to the apartment. Spencer's eyes lit up and he vigorously nodded his head in response, clasping his hands together and rubbing them, as if he was trying to make fire by doing so.

"You bet, Freddie! I've already lost 3 pounds and this workout regimen is the chizz, I'm working my butt off, I'm eating right, it's great! You should see the stuff I do, it's insane!"

As Freddie and Spencer continued talking, Carly was lost in her own world, not really paying attention to the conversation between her technical producing best friend and zany older brother. Now that the time was nearing, her mind was solely focused on the events that were going to be playing out in the studio very soon. How would she confront Sam and Freddie about this? She knew that the direct approach would do her no good; Freddie would vehemently deny whatever it was his problem was and Sam would probably try to change the topic to food or try and make a run for it. She had no choice but to throw her impatience to the side and play it cool, slowly ease into what she had on her mind, lull the two of them into a false sense of security before finally zeroing in on the topic that would be at hand.

When the elevator door opened and Carly walked out, she turned and faced her brother and Freddie, who were still talking about Spencer's football aspirations. She announced that she'd be up in the studio and told Freddie to meet her there, to which he absent-mindedly nodded his head and continued chatting with Spencer.

"So, you're really serious about the Cobra's thing, huh Spence?"

"**NO!** I'm not, Freddie, I can't do this anymore, it's _KILLING_ me!", Spencer whined as he walked in and fell over the couch, laying on it face first, his cries of agony muffled by the couch as Freddie walked around and began to pat him on his shoulder, doing whatever he could to comfort his friend's brother.

"Aw c'mon Spencer, it can't be _THAT_ bad", he said, trying to cheer him up, but he was shut up when he saw the bruise on Spencer's arm that he displayed not-so-proudly.

"Woah...where'd you get that?"

"That happened during the course of training."

"How?"

"I tripped over the exercise bar."

Freddie lightly chuckled to himself as he sat down on the chair to the left of the couch, his usual position when him and the girls were watching television. Spencer shifted around and got himself into a seated position on the couch and pouted. He didn't realize that the training would be this hard, and now he was coming to terms with it. Just when Freddie was going to say something to Spencer, he got up off the couch and yelled out that he was going to the kitchen to get himself some milk. Freddie again chuckled as he pulled his laptop out out of his backpack and turned it on, waiting for the home screen to load up when he heard a knock on the door. He groaned; he was seriously hoping that it was anyone but his mom.

"Come in, it's open", Spencer said as he wiped away the milk mustache off his upper lip after gulping down what appeared to be his fifth glass of the liquid in a matter of two minutes. Freddie was already out of his seat and heading for the upstairs, in the event that it really **was** his over-protective mother.

"Hey Spence, if that's my mom, tell her I'm at a AV Club meeting and won't be home for a while", he said out in a low hush, hoping that his crazed mother didn't hear him if it indeed was her, but Freddie never got a response from Spencer as he stood in the kitchen, eyes wide and mouth zipped shut, agog at what he was seeing. Freddie, eyes fixed on Spencer's stupefied look, shook his head and was going to question it when he head a soft voice whisper through the air and straight into his ear.

"Hey Freddie."

He knew who that voice belonged to, but he really didn't want to see her right now. Yet he felt like he had to turn around and find out what this surprise of hers was all about. Letting out a deep sigh, Freddie slumped his shoulders and slowly turned around to face the bane of his existence/person who he was pretty sure he had a crush on, Sam Puckett. The moment he locked eyes with her, though, everything in his body seemed to just stop working right then and there.

Now he knew why Spencer looked so amazed.

Sam had her usually wild mane of blond hair down, looking neat and taken care of, unlike the unruly mess that it usually looked like. She was wearing a purple top that came up around her neck, holding it all together, and it fit her body like a glove, snug and accenting her physical features beautifully, as did the pair of jeans that hung loosely from her legs, the ends going all the way down to the floor, where she had a matching pair of sandals to go with them as well. In a word, she looked....amazing.

Freddie would have said so if he had the ability to talk, but that left him the moment he looked at her smiling face. She waved to Spencer, who stood there like a gargoyle, faintly making a waving motion with his hand before quickly gulping down four more glasses of milk. Sam walked over to the steps, where Freddie stood, glued to his spot, and gave him the prettiest smile he had ever seen her smile. Standing in front of him, she pushed a loose strand of her hair back and waved her hand in front of Freddie's face, almost like she was trying to snap him out of the trance he was currently in.

"You know, it's not polite to stare and gawk, Freddie", she said sweetly as she walked past him, but finally, he found the ability to speak again. Grabbing Sam's arm and bringing her down to the first step, he gave her this incredulous look that spoke volumes about the current situation. He couldn't believe it. That was the best way to put it.

"You...what....how..._seriously?_", was all Freddie could manage to stutter out as Sam giggled and covered her mouth to prevent it from getting out of hand. She nodded her head, confusing him even more, which she took as a sign that she was doing what she set out to do; make Freddie trip over his words and act like a total goof.

"Well, you did tell me that you'd like to see me prove that I have a girly side underneath the tough girl exterior. Well, here it is. Hope you like it, Freddie, because it's exactly what you asked for."

She smiled brightly again before grabbing his cheek and pinching it, before she did something completely unexpected; she leaned forward and laid a gentle, soft kiss upon said cheek before walking up the steps and announcing her presence to Carly, who shrieked and let out a cry of joy so loud that it could of startled the deaf. "Sam!", she started out, hugging her best friend, "You look so pretty! Oh my gosh, what did you do to yourself!? This this the surprise you told me about???"

That's when Freddie stopped listening and decided that he needed to walk away and never come back, even after Sam just **KISSED** him...again. Sure it wasn't like the first time, but it still counted! But before he could twist the knob on the front door of the Shay's apartment, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and was guided back to the couch. He sat down and saw Spencer sitting next to him, a look on his face that said _'You aren't going anywhere, Freddo'_. He tried to get up and leave again, but Spencer sat him back down.

"What, Spence? I don't want to be around those two while they're acting all girly with each other, I just need to get away for a while. They'll understand...if they're not too busy complimenting each other on their hair or whatever."

"Isn't that what you wanted though, Freddie?", Spencer said calmly while Freddie looked absolutely perplexed, at a loss for words while Spencer grinned from ear to ear.

"How did you...?"

"I know things, Freddo. What matters though, is that you play with the cards you've been dealt. Don't ask how I know or came to this conclusion, but I'm pretty sure that you have some feelings for Sam. Whether she reciprocates those feelings, you'd probably have to ask Carly. But what you should do is just....be flirty with her. Take an interest. Show her that you're genuinely impressed with what she's done. And then, everything from there will, hopefully, fall into place."

Freddie sat there, the chance for rebuttal now gone as he let Spencer's words sink into his system, soaking them up and processing them. You could almost literally see the screws and gears working inside his brain, his lips pursed shut and eyes narrowed. He then sat straight up, back arched, an amazed look on his face as he looked to Spencer, who was still grinning madly, like had solved the biggest problem ever.

"I don't know what to say, Spence. Like...wow. Thanks!"

"Don't think anything of it, Freddo. Now go on, get up there and show Sam what you're made of!"

The two of them high fived each other before Freddie ran up the steps and burst into the studio, where again, he would have said something....if it weren't for being wrapped up in Sam's beauty. And now the light was shining on her, and it made her look....heavenly, almost. She was gleaming, and Freddie felt like melting right then and there. Carly turned to Freddie and smiled, finding the look on his face to be ridiculously cute, his eyes still fixated on Sam.

"Heya Freddie, about time you got up here. Now we can start discussing iCarly for this week!", she said happily as she turned to look at Sam, who for once in her life, was blushing wildly, obviously having noticed Freddie staring at her. Carly thought that this whole thing was cute and even though she hated to bring it up now, it was now or never; them staring, starry-eyed at each other like this was the perfect platform for her to get everything off her chest once and for all.

"So...before we start rehearsing iCarly....I don't know how to put this....but uh...", Carly trailed off, nervous at how her two best friends would react to what she was about to say and lay on them.

"What, Carly? What is it?", Sam asked as she sat down on one of the beanbag chair and smiled up at her friend.

"Aw what the heck, I'm just gonna say it."

"Say what?", questioned Freddie, still in the doorway, eyes lingering back and forth between Sam and Carly.

"You and Sam like each other, don't you!!!"

Thunder outside shook the foundation of the building, lightning lit up the skies, and the rain came down even heavier than before.

The eye of the storm was upon the iCarly gang.

**AN: And that's the end of chapter 5! Expect chapter 6 to be up soon! About that, I was wondering, should I do Sam & Freddie's POV's for the next chapter, or Spencer & Carly's? Any and all opinions will be welcomed. Read and review, and you'll make my day. Thanks everyone, have fun reading this, and see ya soon!**


	6. Wanting to forget

**AN: Hey everyone! How goes? I'm baack! :) Hope I didn't keep you all waiting too long, school work came down on me kinda hard and thus, the delay inbetween chapters. Hopefully this makes up for everything. I haven't forgotten about this! And again (gosh I sound like a broken record xD) big thanks to those who reviewed, read and recently added this story to their favorites/alerts list. It really means a lot to me that you all enjoy this story as much as I am. Now as for this chapter, I believe it's pretty obvious who's POV this is from. I feel it made sense to do this chapter from Carly's POV, and I hope you all agree with me. But don't worry, the next chapter will be all through our favorite tech producer and blonde demon's eyes! And now, onto chapter six!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly. I only wish to make sand castles with them.**

The only sound that could be heard was the rain and thunder from the outside, hitting the windows and rumbling through the air, as the streets of Seattle were surely flooded. Just like I had caused the room to be flooded with silence after I opened my mouth. I wasn't quite expecting both Freddie and Sam to grow so quiet, but at least I finally got everything off my chest and out there in the open. I had to! The two of them forced my hand by acting so weird around each other and avoiding me like they did. I just wish they weren't so quiet...

----------------

Did she really just say that? For real? No way man, no way! What would cause her to think such a thing? Sure, Sam looks cute....**NO**! I said I wouldn't look at Sam like that anymore. I told myself that I can't possibly like her and want to be in a relationship with her, because it'd be defying every law known to teenagers. I figure that by avoiding her (which in turn, meant avoiding Carly by proxy, which made me feel bad), I would get over those feelings. Ugh. Why does Sam have to look so beautiful?!?!?

----------------

That's funny that Carly would say that. I always knew she was funny, but wow, that's got to be the funniest thing she's ever said! Me, liking the dork....hilarious! I should be laughing right now, but then I realize that neither Carly nor Freddie is laughing, and now the reality sinks in...._crap_. This can't be happening! I don't like Freddie like that! I barely like him as a friend sometimes, why would I want to like him like that!? That's just so wrong. So, _so_ wrong. What if she finds out I got dolled up like this because Freddie basically dared me? Well, he did dare me...I think...I know I didn't do this for him....oh what the heck....

----------------

"Are you guys gonna say anything?"

My words come out harsher than I wanted them to, but the silence is killing me. My eyes dart back and forth between Sam, who's looking up at me, giving me these eyes that suggest I have a second head sprouting out of my neck, and Freddie, who gives me a look of either disgust or horror, I couldn't tell which. Them remaining silent like this for so long is only confirming the conclusions that I've come up with in my head! There's no need for them to remain this silent...I mean, they really can't like each other. There's no way that Sam would doll herself up for Freddie's sake. Maybe she wanted to show me that she could do it on her own and maybe if I'm lucky, she'll start doing it more; girl is way too pretty to keep herself under wraps. And well, I mean, I think it's cute that the two of them _might_ like each other, but then again, they're sworn frenemies! Sworn frenemies aren't supposed to like each other and think all romantic stuff! At least I think they aren't supposed to...

Ahhh! I need to stop thinking that Sam and Freddie could like each other. It's impossible, Carly. Impossible. Im-poss-ib-le. This is Sam Puckett and Freddie Benson we're talking about here. One is my obnoxious, rude, poorly behaved, meat-loving best friend that I love very, very much. The other is my kinda nerdy, straight laced, tech loving, down to earth other best friend that I also love quite a bit. How the heck could those two even **THINK** of liking each other without shuddering or wanting to lick a sock? I just...don't get it.

"Well?? Are either of you going to say something or are you both just going to stare and gawk?"

Freddie shakes his head violently, like he's ridding his head of something, and makes his way over to his cart, ignoring my previous questions while Sam turns her head and looks down at the floor, obviously avoiding eye contact with me right now. Aw come on you two, stop doing this! You two liking each other is going to drive me crazy! Crazy I tell you, crazy!

"So....what do you want to do for the next iCarly, ladies?"

He _never_ calls Sam a lady.....this isn't good.

Sam keeps her eyes on the floor, head turned away from Freddie, while I give Freddie the look of death. He ignores it again and then begins doing something on his computer, his eyes wide as they're focused on the screen in front of him. So I did what I had to do if I was gonna get him to pay attention and answer the question and give me what I think I deserve to know.

"Carly, what're you--**OW**!"

That's right. I slammed the top of his computer onto his fingers, smashing them underneath. His face twists up in pain as he grabs at his fingers and begins waving them in the air, trying to make the pain go away, while I look at him with a face that says 'You gonna listen to me now?'. Sam stands up and looks at Freddie with....concern? Oh what the heck! Why on earth would Sam be concerned for Freddie? Not that she shouldn't be, I normally don't do this, but if this were any other time, she'd be laughing and joining in on the finger smashing activities! Oh man, what I wouldn't give for her to do that right now so that everything could go back to normal.....oh wow.

Since when did I suddenly condone Sam harming and causing Freddie constant emotional and physical pain!? Forget what's up with them, what's up with me!? Why is it me causing Freddie pain now? Aww man....

"What the hell was that for, Carly!?", Freddie shouts at me as he backs up near the door, waving his fingers in the air and trying to make the pain stop, to no avail, it seemed. By now, Sam's at my side, looking past my shoulder at Freddie, biting down on her lip, as if she's conflicted on whether to laugh or ask if he's alright. She begins to hesitantly chuckle as Freddie sucked on his fingers and then took them out of his mouth, calming down before shooting a glare in my direction. Sam's still chuckling, and he shoots her a glare too. He then rolls his eyes and then, acting as if nothing happened, goes back to his work behind the computer. One thing came to mind as I watched him do this.

What the heck _is up_ with this boy?!?

"Are you alright, Freddie?", I ask him, genuinely concerned that I might have crushed one of his fingers or something like that. He doesn't look up at me, and Sam's done chuckling. His eyes just remain on the screen, probably looking at the comments from the last iCarly. Which reminds me....why did I open my big mouth before we started rehearsing everything for Friday night? God, I'm so freakin' stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid Carly!

"Yeah, I'm fine. Did Sam put you up to that or is she finally beginning to rub off on you?", he says coldly, his fingers typing away on the keyboard, his lips pursed together, eyes staring holes through the screen, wincing whenever he uses one of his crushed fingers. Usually a comment like that would make me feel bad about doing something like smashing Freddie's laptop on his fingers, but now, it doesn't. I do feel bad about hurting him, but I don't feel like I should mope over it. Oh no, I'm gonna get my answers and I'm gonna get them if it's the last thing I do!

At least for the rest of the day, at least.....

"No, Freddie, she didn't. I did that on my own accord. Now answer me this; why have you been avoiding me? Why is it that whenever I want to talk to you about Sam or heck, anything in general, you run away? Why are you acting so cold and distant, like one of those jerkish football jocks at school? Why, Freddie? What's the deal?", I said rather hastily as Freddie finally finds it within himself to snap his eyes away from the computer and look at me in the eye. I can feel Sam's eyes grow wide, her jaw dropping, leaving her mouth to make an 'o' shape. I remember to remind myself that after I'm done with Freddie here, she's next. Just because she's my best friend doesn't mean she's getting off easy. Nope, no way, not today, not now.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Carly", he says nonchalantly as he closes the laptop and starts to wrap up some cords. "You think that I'm running away and acting differently, and well, I'm sorry Carls, but you're wrong. What may seem like me acting weird to you is being incredibly busy and….stressed out", he says next, in a cool tone as he slowly begins to back up towards the door. Oh no he doesn't!

"Oh, I think I hear my mom calling. Coming mom!", he says aloud, making a break for it, but I'm too fast for him (again), slamming the door shut before he could ever open it. He goes to protest but I cut him off before he could say anything else.

"Your mother didn't call for you, and don't even say that you heard the whistle, because there was no whistle and last I checked, you didn't have hearing like a hawk or a homing pigeon, so don't try and leave!"

Freddie tries to protest again, but before he could utter anything, a loud scream is heard coming from downstairs, which means only one thing; Spencer's done something to cause himself pain…..or he set something else on fire again. Whatever it is, it can't be pretty. But as soon as I move to the door to go check on him, Freddie's already out the door, saying nothing, but bolting down the stairs at a pace that even I didn't think he could run at. I can still hear Spencer screaming, but that doesn't matter now; Freddie's run off **AGAIN**….which leaves me all alone with Sam.

Oh boy….

"So Sam, what's going on? How've you been? I haven't seen you since last week…"

"Carly, listen, if you want to talk about this", she says, pointing to her outfit and her hair, "Then we can. But if you want to talk about what you blurted out before, then it's going to have to wait, because I need to figure everything out for myself."

Wait a minute….did she just say what I think she just said?

_Oh. My. God._

"Y-you like Freddie!? You really do!?"

The words barely escape my mouth. My eyes are as wide as golf balls, and I'm doing my best to keep my jaw up and off the ground. She says nothing. I've got her right where I want her, and I still can't believe it. Did Sam Puckett just admit that she likes FREDDIE BENSON??? The boy that she's been picking on, torturing, and causing physical and emotional pain to for years? The 'tech nerd' who could never score a date even if he tried? The one with the over-protective mother who makes him take tick baths and wears anti-bacterial underwear? The one who, just last week, was told he'd live alone for the rest of his life because I'd never love him? This is all just a dream, Carly….this is all just a dream. Any moment now, you'll wake up, everything will be fine, and Sam and Freddie will be at each other's throats again.

"I'm not saying anything, Carls, other than you know how it is. He's a dork, I'm the ham lover. Enough said."

"Sam, if you like Freddie, you can talk to me about it. This is actually really good if you do! Granted it's freaking me out and I still can't believe that you two can have feelings for each other that aren't scorn and pure hatred with a small pinch of friendliness thrown in, but I think it's kinda cute that you like Freddie. Spencer said that----"

"Carly…."

I can hear the distress in her voice, and I can feel my heart break a little bit. Looks like this has been bothering her more than she's let on to. She takes hold of my hand and leads me to the bean bag chairs, plopping down in one and sitting me down in the one next to her. She begins to twirl one of her curls around her finger, chewing on her lip as she searches for what to say next. Her eyes dart back and forth between me and the door, almost like she's anticipating Freddie to return at any moment. Finally, she just sighs and rolls her eyes, facing me and beginning to spill her guts out.

"Carls…have you ever liked a boy so much to the point where every time you see him or your in the same room with him, you sometimes forget everything going on and just focus on that boy?"

Awww…that's so sweet. I never knew Sam could be so girly like this. It's almost kind of refreshing from what she's usually like. Not that I don't like how Sam usually is, because that's why I love her so much, but it's really cute to see that she can be girly when she wants to be. I nod my head in agreement, and she lets out another sigh, this time one of relief. She nervously tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear and then looks down at the floor.

"There's a boy, Carly. He's really….wow, I sound like one of those dumb chicks from one of those dumb chick flicks. He gets me going, is all I'll say. I see him and everything else just ceases to exist. It's like it's only me and him, and I just want to tell him how much I like him, how much I want to ask him out, but…I don't know, every time I see him, I just get nervous and end up saying something stupid instead."

Oh, she has GOT to be talking about Freddie! There's no way she could be talking about anyone else! I've seen how she looks at him when he's not looking or he's doing something else…I've seen her forget that me or Spencer exist while she insults Freddie sometimes….he obviously gets her going, in a weird sort of way. And she totally wants to say how much she likes him, but she just insults him to cover up her true feelings! I get it all now! I get it! Yay, I'm smart! Why didn't I realize this before, years ago!? Well…I kinda _did_….I just never, you know…actually thought anything of it. It still freaks me out that these two could like each other, but the cuteness of the situation takes control of it.

I need to play this cool, though. If I want her to admit that it's Freddie that she's indeed talking about, I can't go straight for the kill, oh no. I need to, believe it or not, get Sam vulnerable, make her open up to me like she always does whenever something serious enough gets to her and bugs her, and then make her utter those words that now, suddenly, I want to hear her say; that she indeed likes Freddie. Gosh, I sound so hypocritical, but I'm a 16 year old girl, my mind changes rapidly! But as I was going to say....Sam really needs this….and so does Freddie.

They really do.

"What's he like?", I ask, taking the slow approach, well, slowly. "Does he go to Ridgeway?"

"Yeah…he's in our grade", she starts out, causing me to do fists pumps in my head as I try my hardest not to let the grin that wants to creep across my lips appear. "He's really funny. Kinda tall, and he's grown into his body. He's kinda nerdy, but I like that about him. He'll say the craziest, nerdiest things that nobody else knows, and I'll just look at him in amazement before I say something stupid. He's really smart….and really cute too."

"Oh, really? That's cool, Sam. I'm glad you've taken…such an interest in this boy, whoever he is. I'm happy for you! It's really cool to see you act like this because a boy's on your mind."

"Yeah, I can't even explain it, Carly….I just hope you're not mad at me for, you know, kinda avoiding you the past few days and all. I wanted to ask you for your help with this whole get up", she says, looking down at her clothes. "But I figured that I needed to do this on my own and show that even I, Sam Puckett, lover of ham and Fat Cakes, have a bit of a girly side."

I'm smiling, and this time, I'm not faking it. I really am happy for Sam. She's done a good job here, and she did it all by herself! I must have finally rubbed off on her a little bit, because she looks awesome! And I'm also really glad to see her taking such an interest in a boy like this. I haven't seen her act this way since she got the hots for Pete, but that didn't end up so well. Who cares, though! She obviously digs Freddie, and it's quite apparent that he digs her as well. Now I'm seriously warming up to the thought of my two best friends liking each other and entering a relationship. Who knows, maybe Freddie will stop paying so much attention to his tech stuff and Sam will stop being so violent and misbehaved! Ooh, this is going to be so much fun when she admits it to me!

"Sam, it's alright. I could never stay mad at you, you're my best friend. Best friends don't stay mad at each other. And I'm not even mad, I'm happy for you! But, if you don't mind me asking….who's the lucky boy that you've got your eye on?"

Her eyes grew wider than I've ever seen, and now she's chewing on her bottom lip like it's a piece of beef jerky or a meatball. Her finger is madly twirling her hair like a helicopter, faster and faster with each second that passes us by. In the distance, I can hear footsteps coming from the downstairs, which means that either Freddie is on his way back up here or Spencer is going to say something crazy before running back downstairs. Either way, I better get the answer out of Sam quickly so that it can remain amongst the two of us until she's ready to tell Freddie her feelings.

"You'd laugh if I told you, Carls. You'd think I was crazy."

"Aw come on, Sammy. You know that I think you're already crazy. Who is he?"

She laughs nervously, her hair becoming the curliest I've ever seen it become, all because of her finger being wrapped around it. "You promise not to laugh?" I nod my head accordingly, a smile tugging at my lips. "Seriously, Carly. You can't laugh or make fun of me for what I am about to tell you."

"Why would I laugh, Sam?", I question, smiling broadly as she nods her head in understanding and shrugs her shoulders. The footsteps are getting closer and closer, any second now either Freddie or Spencer (probably Freddie) is going to burst through that door….

"Alright Carly, here goes nothing", she says as she closes her eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath, exhaling before reopening her eyes and staring straight into mine, a small smile creeping across her own lips, while I can barely keep mine off. It's like a giant luminescent billboard (ahhh memories) is on my forehead and it says, 'Sam likes Freddie, yay!' The footsteps are almost here….she's ready to speak….oh come on Sam, just spit it out already!!!

"Remember that kid I used to hate, Reuben? Yeah....I like Reuben."

Yes! Yes! She finally admitted it! Spencer was right, Sam really does like Reu--…._WHAT_?!? Reuben!?!? The one who speaks in this weird jank talk that nobody but him and Gibby understands??! The one that she made cry that one night at the Cheesecake Warehouse!?! The one she nearly **KILLED** one day in school because he called her an albino dolphin in his jank talk or something like that!?!?! What the hell is up with this!? She's got to be kidding. Right? There's no way she could like that nub. **NO WAY**.

"What?"

"See, I knew I shouldn't have told you…"

"No, don't say that. Say what you said before that. Again."

"Um….ok?"

"Just say it!"

"I like Reuben, Carly. There. What's the matter with that? People's opinions on other people change…."

Her tone is filled with excitement, and her eyes show happiness, like a weight's been taken off of her shoulders, but that happiness in her blue eyes is gone literally a second later. So too, is the smile. It's replaced with shock, sadness almost. Then it goes blank. Her face remains blank, but her eyes grow wide with fear. At least I think it's fear. I wonder what the heck she's looking at behind me, but then my heart sinks, and I realize that it might be who I think it is. I'm really wishing that it's going to be Spencer I'll be looking at behind me. Slowly turning my head to see, I keep my eyes closed. Finally, when I feel like I'm facing the door to the studio, I open my eyes.

What I saw caused my heart to shatter into a million tiny pieces.

There was Freddie, standing in the arch of the studio door, his jaw slightly dropped, eyes vacant, and looking stiff, like a board. Whatever he had in his hands, he dropped; it was cables for the computer. His eyes are blinking rapidly, and I find myself looking between my two best friends, trying to read their faces, and yet, I'm failing miserably. Silence has engulfed the room once more, and this time, I really wish it was my doing. Neither of them knows what to say to each other, and right about this time, I'd break the ice and everything would be normal. But I don't think anything can be normal again. Not after what Freddie just heard Sam say. How could she like that nub and not admit her true feelings for Freddie? She's got to be just saying that to mask everything, like she usually does with everything else. She has to be….

"Uh…well, I only came back up here to uh…let you girls know that Spencer's alright. I…I should get going. I'll uh…I'll see you around."

And he's gone. I can hear his footsteps practically running down the steps. Turning to face Sam before I run after Freddie, I give her the look of death. How could she do that to him? How?

"What, Carly? Why're you giving me that look? I didn't do--"

"You've done it again, Sam. Congratulations. I hope you're happy."

I get out of my bean bag chair and then begin my chase after Freddie. Leaping down the steps two at a time, I can faintly hear him running, but I'm too late. As I arrive in the living room, I only see Spencer sitting on one of the barstools, holding an ice pack to his forehead, a puzzled, confused look on his face as he looks at me and the open door to our apartment simultaneously. His face mirrors mine.

"What happened?", is all he can manage to ask me, his voice wrought with concern for Freddie. I bite my lip and close my eyes shut. This has to be some kind of bad dream, right? How the hell could Sam do that to Freddie? How can she stand to constantly hurt him like this? I just don't understand….

Suddenly, the elevator door opens, beeping to signify that it's landed here at the living room. Slowly, Sam steps out, her emotions unreadable. Spencer gives her a questionable look as she walks past him and towards the door. Before she reaches it, she stops to look me in the face. She doesn't say anything. I don't expect her to. Either she's the most ignorant girl I know, or she knows what she's done, and she's hopefully going to go fix it.

"I'm gonna go home, Carls. I'll talk to ya later."

I look away from her, down towards the ground, my eyes landing on the carpet. I can only ask her one thing.

"Why?"

She looks startled by that question, acting as if she genuinely didn't expect it. She's speechless. And Sam is rarely speechless.

"Why what? Look Carly, I didn't do anything wrong. So what if the nub got all sad because I--"

"Whatever! Just go! I don't want to talk to you right now!"

And that's the truth. Sam's now got a hurt look on her face…good. Now she knows how she just made Freddie feel. He doesn't even need to say anything; his reaction all but screams at me that he does like Sam. And now she's crushed him emotionally once again. I can't believe her. I honestly can't. It's so obvious that the boy likes her, and she just basically ripped his heart out and punted it away like it was a football.

"Carly…"

"Just go, Sam. Please. Go."

She looks like she's about to let some tears fly, but she doesn't. She bites down on her lip, and then solemnly nods her head, realizing that there's no room for argument, slowly exiting the apartment and heading down the stairs. Slamming the door shut, I walk over towards Spencer and fall into his arms. He instinctively wraps them around my body and pulls me close to his chest, embracing me tightly. I want to cry right now….for Freddie, for the fact that I feel so, so bad for him right now. And I want to cry because what I'm about to tell Spence is possibly the one thing that I've never wanted to do. But I feel like I've got no choice. Sam's almost forced my hand with her behavior.

Letting go of my grip on Spencer's shirt, I mouth a thank you to him before trudging back towards the stairs. He's still got a confused look plastered all across his face. His voice stops me in my tracks, and I know that it's time to drop the bomb.

"Carly, what happened between Sam and Freddie up there? Why did Freddie leave in such a hurry and look like he was about to cry? Why'd you yell at Sam like that? What's --"

I hold my finger up to silence him, and he does so. The questions stop. His face is still riddled with confusion though. Like it'll never go away. And then I drop the bomb.

"I don't think we're going to be doing iCarly anymore."

Spencer's jaw drops, his eyes are wide, he's got his hand on his chest, like he's just gotten shot, and he takes a step back, trying to digest what I told him, but doing a bad job. I knew that this would be his reaction. And so I go upstairs. I don't want to hear him ask me anymore questions. I don't want to hear anything. My mind is all but made up. Walking into my room, I don't even bother to turn the light on or change into my sleep clothes. I just fall onto my bed and let sleep capture me, a tear on my eye as it does. Even though the storm is still raging outside, I manage to fall asleep rather quickly, and for good reason.

All I want to do is forget.

**AN: And that's all she wrote for chapter 6! Pretty deep stuff here, huh? What will happen next? Only I know...but you will all know as well, soon enough! Read and review, it makes me happy! Hope you enjoy, and see ya next time!**


	7. What were you thinking?

**AN: Hey everyone, I'm baaack! Hope I didn't keep y'all waiting too long between chapters, but you know, college, work, papers...it gets frustrating sometimes. Which is why writing this story (and thinking of ideas for others) is a great way to keep everything going smoothly. But anyways, before I give the deets on this latest chapter, I figure I might as well give quick reviews on the latest episodes of iCarly. I thought 'iCook' was pretty neat, and the twist with RICKY FLAME (sorry, his name is too cool not to be typed in caps) at the end was hilarious. And the bit with Spencer and Nug-Nug was awesome. It was nice to see his 'vision' come true afterall. And Carly & Sam uttered two of my favorite lines from the show; "We do NOT electrocute our friends!", and "No...the least we could do is nothing." Priceless stuff.**

**And then there's 'iSpeed Date'. Oh my god, I thought this episode was perhaps the funniest episode of iCarly ever, or definatly up there. I knew it was going to be as good as Dan said it would be on his blog space when the bit in the beginning with Gibby ended. "Who's banana is this?" Ahhhh, it was hilarious! And then the whole, 'She tweeted it?' bit was pretty funny, but the real great stuff was when Spencer did the random exercises. I hope they incorporate that more into the episodes, that stuff was gold! I especially loved the bit where he was doing the windmills and accidentally knocked Freddie out, then Sam & Carly joined in with him. Overall, it was, in my opinion, the best of the 3 episodes so far in season 3. And yeah, despite liking Freddie/Sam, I did think the end was cute with him and Carly. I don't mind the whole Carly/Freddie relationship, and hopefully they allude to this and act upon it in future episodes. **

**So here we are with the latest chapter! The last chapter was mostly Carly's POV, and now we're back to Freddie & Sam's POV's, so I hope you enjoy! And on another quick note, thank you to everyone who's read, reviewed or added the story to their favorite/alert list. 3,000 hits already! Thank you all, you've all been very kind to me! And here....we....go!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly. I just wanna have lunch with them all though.**

People say that things happen for a reason. I guess they were right all along, huh?

I thought I was doing the right thing. Skirting around the issue that's been hanging over my head ever since what happened out here on the fire escape. I tried to tell myself that what I was feeling, the thoughts I was having were just temporary. A mere annoyance in the grand scheme of things. I was wrong. I told myself that I couldn't possibly like someone like her. There were just too many things about us that weren't compatible. It's like trying to fit a square into a round hole. It just doesn't work. Nothing ever seems to work in my favor. The moment I can find even a tiny bit of happiness, it's torn to shreds and I'm left with nothing once more. How stupid could I have possibly been? How? How could I blindly believe that something as impossible as liking that girl could have worked out for me? You could chalk it up to being naïve. You could chalk it up to puppy love. You could chalk it up to me being a stupid kid who didn't know any better. And for a while, I did think that I was stupid for thinking what I did.

I guess I wasn't so stupid when I heard her utter those words.

It doesn't really surprise me, though. Whether she intends to or not, she always ends up hurting me. Be it emotionally, physically, or even spiritually, the end result is always the same; she gets her laughs, and I end up in pain because of it. To the untrained eye, the tears that are threatening to fall from my eyes may be because of what she said and the toll it's taken on my heart. But it's not that. These tears? They're tears filled with angst. Of course I'm angry at myself for believing that I could have a relationship with her. I'm angry at myself for believing that everything would be better if we were together. I'm angry at myself for going against my promise of hating her right after our first kiss, which coincidentally, took place here on this very fire escape. I question the emotions I've felt since that night. We promised to never speak of it again, and we haven't. We promised to go back to hating each other right after it. The thing is…she's held up her end of that bargain. I haven't. Ever since that moment…heck, even before we kissed, I was having conflicting emotions about her. I remember when they first started, too. I was walking up the steps towards the studio to grab my camera, so I could bring it home and clean the lens and whatnot. She was up there, alone, eating a sandwich and looking through one of those teenage girl magazines. I paid no attention to her.

Then she smiled.

Now, that's not to say that I haven't seen her smile before. But usually, whenever she smiles, it's because she's gorging herself on some meat product, causing someone pain, watching Girly Cow, or watching someone else have pain inflicted upon them. This smile…it was genuine. Her pearly whites flashed, her lips curved ever so slightly, and she looked radiant. Her hair wasn't hanging over her face for once, the curls were lying on her shoulder, but they looked radiant as well. The light was shining on her, and I just remember staring at her through the glass in the door for the longest time, praying she wouldn't notice me and kick me in places that should never be kicked. And I would have continued staring at her if it hadn't been for Carly coming up the steps in search of her. Of course, she asked me what I was staring at, and of course, I lied and told her something about how I saw a big spider and was repulsed by it. Carly gave me that look that she always gives me when it looks like I'm copping her out on something and not telling her what I'm really thinking about, but she merely stifled a small laugh and dropped the subject.

I spent that night in my bed, the only thoughts that raced through my head were of how…cute, she looked. I didn't say beautiful or gorgeous yet, because, well, I hadn't yet encountered her when she looked that way. That wouldn't come for another couple of weeks, right before we shared our first kiss together. But enough about all of the stuff that's happened in the past. Ever since I saw her flash that smile, the thoughts that I suppressed a long time ago came back, and I've been conflicted ever since. To like her, or not to like her…that was the question that raged through my head whenever I stopped long enough for it to creep back in. It just sucks, you know? You think you like a girl, then you don't think you like her. Then you finally get enough guts to admit to yourself that you like the girl, and then the girl plays hard to get, rejects you flat out…or leads you on before crushing you all the same when she says she's got her eyes on some other boy. If anything, I've learned one thing tonight. One thing that'll stay with me for quite some time.

Sam will _always_ hurt me.

I can feel the tears beginning to drip from my eyelids and onto my cheek. I'm like Sam in the regard that I almost never cry. But tonight…it just seems appropriate. How could she do that to me? How could I let myself believe, even for one second, that she liked me back? I'm an idiot for thinking that she got dressed up tonight like that because of what I said to her last week. Liking a girl does that, I guess. It clouds the mind, and causes you to use poor judgment. I've never liked a girl like I do Sam. Sure, there was the whole 'crushing on Carly' shtick. I put her on a pedestal, and rightfully so; Carly's not like any other girl that I know. Carly's the best friend a boy like me could ever want and ask for. I still put Carly on a pedestal, but not like I used to. I'm over that crush. I realize that it's better having her as my best friend than constantly fawning over her when I knew she'd never return my 'feelings'. I think…no, I know that crushing over Carly that way was the perfect means of hiding my feelings for Sam. Guess there's no need to hide them anymore though, huh? What's it even matter anyways. I'm nothing but the geek of iCarly to her. I'll always just be a nerd who she can beat up on when she's having a crappy day. And now, I'm the dork whose heart she likes to break on a constant basis. I should have seen it coming, but that goes back to me being thick-headed, naïve and blind to everything but my feelings.

I should have told Carly the truth when she asked me about Sam earlier. Stupid, stupid, stupid Freddie! You get a golden opportunity handed to you on a silver freaking platter and you run away because Spencer saw a giant spider in the kitchen (go figure). I guess that's the story of my life, though.

"_Loving you_

_isn't the right thing to do._

_How can I ever change these things_

_That I feel?"_

Fleetwood Mac. Hah. My mom must have put that on there, because I don't ever remember being a fan of theirs. It's fitting though. I wouldn't say that I love Sam…but I like her a lot more than I've ever liked any girl before. And that includes Carly. Who'd of thought a song that's older than I am could relate to the situation, huh? It's another one of those funny things in life, though…like how a techie like me could like a girl who, when I first met her, kicked sand onto my clothes and made them all dirty. I've taken so much abuse from Sam ever since we became 'friends' (though she says we're 'frenemies'), it's out of this world. And yet, I keep coming back for more. I remember when I told her that when a girl constantly rips on a guy, it means that she secretly likes him. She punched me in the gut for that. Again…I keep going back for more. It's not the abuse that I like about our…friendship. It's just getting to spend so much time around her that I like. It used to be like that with Carly, and it still is, because I love Carly's company, but now it's more evened out. We've even hung out by ourselves a few times! Me and Sam, no Carly, no Spencer…just the two of us. It was actually fun, to be honest. We'd go to the mall and rag on people (well, Sam would mostly find people wearing ridiculous clothes and we'd point out how funny they looked). We'd go to the park and throw bread at the hobo's. We even went bike riding once. I'd never had so much fun with Sam in my life before, I didn't even realize that we were frenemies! The best time though, where I all but knew that my feelings for her were real, was when she snuck into my apartment one night, dragged me out of bed, did a "Wake Up Spencer", and then went walking around downtown Seattle one night. It ended up with us back at the park, where the fountain was. She got that crazy look in her eye, and before I knew it, we were fighting to push each other into the freezing cold water. I nearly got her in, but I thought better of it, and grabbed her at the last second. And then…we just started to dance. Like, we held each other's hands, and we spun in circles, chased each other around the park…to use a really cliché word, it was magical. That's right, I said it. It was like we completely forgot that we said all this stuff about each other and we were just two friends having the most fun time ever.

I almost told her how I felt about her that night. Looking back, I wish I had.

I hear a small knock on the window behind me, but I don't feel like talking to anyone. I hear the knock again. I ignore it once more. Maybe whoever it is will get the hint and leave me alone. The third time though, the knock is louder, and I turn my head to tell off whoever it is that's bugging me that I don't feel like dealing with them. But it wasn't who I was expecting it to be.

"Hey, kiddo. Got room for another out here?", says Spencer as he's standing in the hall, looking out at me and the night sky, a sympathetic smile on his lips. Great. The last thing I need is someone, even a cool guy like Spencer, giving me sympathy. He doesn't even know what happened, so there's no point to him being out here. But I shouldn't fight it. He must've gone though some deal of trouble to find out that this was my hiding spot when I'm feeling down, so I'll humor him.

"Yeah, c'mon out", I respond, and he steps out, grabbing one of the lawn chairs I bring with me and sitting in it. We say nothing for a few moments, just letting the music from my PearPod play as we stare at the purplish-black sky that's dotted with stars. He's got a small grin on his lips as he looks up at them, like he's an astrologist or something, and he just saw a meteor in the solar system. Finally, he shakes his head and looks over to me. I can only imagine what Spencer's got to say to me.

"So, what'cha doing out here, Freddo?", he says simply enough.

"Nothing of importance", I say. What's it to Spencer if I'm out here being a sad little boy because the big bad Sam Puckett ruined my life yet again? But then another thought crosses my mind…how did he get out here? Only Sam and I know of this, and maybe I told Carly when I wasn't paying attention, but how does Spence know?

"Spencer, how did you find me out here? I don't think I ever--"

"I managed to get Carly half-awake and asked her about where I could find you. She mentioned something about you telling her about this place, that you came out here whenever you needed to think about stuff, so I took her word and lo and behold, here I am!"

Well that makes sense then. I guess I did tell Carly about it once. That's great though. What started out as my secret hideaway has now become common knowledge amongst the group. Oh well, I guess it wasn't going to remain my little secret for much longer, not after the kiss. It is what it is.

"What's up with your sister?", I asked, a little concerned that she'd just fall asleep like that and not bother to try and find me or Sam and see what the heck was going on with either one of us. Spencer's face grows dark, his eyes narrowing to slits, lips pursed shut. He shakes his head and looks at me knowingly. Where have I seen him give me that look before…?

"She kinda just fell asleep after you left and she yelled at Sam. I'd rather not get into it though, that's for her to tell you, not me. I don't know all the deets, so I'd be telling you a whole bunch of nothing anyways."

"She…she yelled at Sam?", I asked, maybe a little too nervously and hesitantly for my liking. Spencer arches an eyebrow, but he quickly shakes that off and nods his head. The look on his face repeats his previous statement though. Alright, fair enough. He doesn't need to talk about it…and I don't need to know about it...yet.

"So, you didn't answer my question from before, kiddo. What're you doing out here? It's freezing!"

"I already told you, Spence. Nothing of importance."

"Aw, come on man, don't say that. You can talk to me. I may be eccentric and off the wall, but I'm a good listener."

"No offense, Spencer, but you? A good listener?"

"It helps to become one when you have a teenage little sister, you know."

And he makes a good point. I just wish my mom was like that. Whenever I have a problem, she always seems to think that it can be solved by doing a puzzle, or giving me a tick bath, or whatever. She doesn't want to actually listen to my problems most of the times. She thinks that her mere presence, no matter how crazy and overbearing it may be, is enough to get me through my problems. It isn't. And that's why I'm glad that Spencer's here right now. At least I know he'll listen. He may not have anything to say, give any good advice, any of that, but I can be comforted knowing that my best friend's older brother took the time to find me and listen to what I had to say. That's what friends are for.

"So what's the dealio, Freddo. Talk to me. Vent. Let it all hang out. I'll try to help the best I can."

I hung my head and stared at the steel grating my feet were on. I felt as cold as the steel below me. I felt empty. Like someone…a girl, had ripped my inners out and threw them down onto the streets eight stories below and watched them splatter all over the sidewalk. How could I convey that into words, though? How?

"I don't know how to really say this all, but here goes nothing. Spencer, have you ever liked a girl so much that you can't explain it to yourself or to anyone else? Have you ever liked a girl so much to the point where you're so afraid of rejection, you stay away from her, tell yourself that your feelings are inaccurate, and live day by day knowing that what you want can never, ever happen?"

Wow, Benson, way to lay the heavy, thick crap on the poor guy right off the bat. Now he's probably gonna give me that look Spencer always gives people whenever he's confused or lost. I wouldn't put it past him to walk (or run) away right now and never bother to come back. I'm almost expecting it. Everyone else seems to run away from me, why not Spencer? But then he does something; he nods his head, a small, yet sad, smile on his lips. He lets out a deep sigh before putting his hand on my shoulder, like he understands everything I just said.

"Yeah, Freddie. I understand everything, for the most part. I know what you're going through, and believe me, it sucks. At the beginning of the storm, nothing you want to work out works out. Everything's in disarray, and it leaves you feeling inadequate and makes you wonder what you were thinking in the first place. Yeah, it sounds bad, and I don't want to make you feel that way right now, but me personally, that's how I felt when I went through the pains of the first girl I seriously liked. Her name was Monica, and we were both around your age at the time, like 16 years old. We had been friends for a while at that point, but I was just like any typical nervous kid around a girl…I didn't know how to go about asking her out, telling her how I felt, all that jazz. It didn't help that she constantly played hard to get, but I figured that was all part of the game, and it is. It was just…so frustrating, you know?"

I nod my head in agreement. Wow. I feel like I'm living vicariously through Spencer's past right now. It's oddly cool, yet still somewhat weird. What's next? He's gonna say the girl insulted him every second of every day and used him for a punching bag whenever she felt like it?

"So finally, after much deliberation, I finally got enough courage to ask Monica out. I was gonna ask her to go to the movies with me, something simple and not overly romantic. Well, when I was going to her locker the day I was going to ask her, I saw her there with another guy. For some reason, the red flags didn't come up, and I went ahead and saw her anyways. So I asked, and then she gave me this funny look, and then said, 'Well, um, Spencer, I'd like to, but…'. I didn't even wait for her to finish her sentence, I just ran. I didn't want to talk to her, say anything. I just wanted to be alone, because I knew what she was going to say. And that was the beginning of the storm. Everything was messed up, and I felt like the biggest, most pathetic loser ever."

"Wow…", was all I could say, because I swear to God, I'm experiencing all of that right now. Oh my god, I really am, and it's so eerily on the mark for the most part, all I can do is just stare and look at Spencer as he continues to talk. Screw him listening to my problems right now, all I wanna do is listen to him talk about how this relates to my problems. It's like Spencer's inside my mind!

"Then came the calm in between everything. I stopped to think about what happened, and I realized that I freaked out over nothing. It was fear of rejection, and I didn't even know if she was rejecting me or not. Turns out, she approached me a week or so later at my locker and asked me what I was doing that weekend. I said nothing. She said that I was going out with her then. She apologized, said she gave off the wrong impression, yadda yadda. We went out that Saturday night and we hit it off. We started officially dating like two weeks later, and I thought I was on top of the world. And why shouldn't I have? I was just some would-be sculptor who was now dating this insanely pretty and popular girl. I felt like I had arrived, as far as the rest of the kids in my grade were concerned. Life was great at that point. Carly was going to be three years old in a few months, my dad was doing great…I thought nothing could go wrong."

His face then fell a little, and I wondered if this was where everything became all messed up again. He shrugged his shoulders and put his finger on his chin, thinking about what to say next, the events in his head probably still as fresh as they've ever been.

"What happened, Spence?"

"We dated for a while, you know, all the lovey dovey teenage stuff. It was great, you know? The honeymoon phase…I was oblivious to everything around me that didn't involve Monica. I guess I wasn't paying enough attention though."

"Huh?"

"She was going behind my back and seeing this other guy. I had suspicions, but I never acted upon them. I don't know why I didn't…I just thought that, you know, we're together, we have each other's trust, why should I suspect her of doing something like that? So then we got invited to a party that Socko was holding since his parents were away for the weekend. We got there, and after a half hour or so, she said she had to go the ladies room, and so she excused herself. Ten minutes went by…fifteen…twenty…finally, I got worried and went to look for her. I don't know how, but I ended up outside, and I heard some weird noise coming from across the street. I got closer, and then I saw it."

"What'd you see?", I ask, though I have a feeling that I already know the answer to this question. I can see it in Spencer's eyes. I can tell that it still bugs him a little, even after all these years, to talk about this or even mention it.

"I saw her and one of the kids from the football team making out in the backseat of his car. I didn't say anything though, because I was in such shock at what I was seeing. I couldn't believe that she'd do that to me. So I did what any person would have done in that situation."

"What's that?"

"I grabbed a large, blunt object from my car and I went to town on his. I smashed windows, the windshield, the doors, the hood, the roof, the trunk…everything was demolished. After I was done, I just ran. I ran as far away as I could, didn't even think about my car or my belongings…I just ran. I don't remember where I ended up, but I remember just sitting there and crying. I was so angry at her, him, and myself. We broke off our relationship a few days later, and that, my tiny genius friend, is what the eye of the storm is."

Wow…I don't know what to say to that. He really could relate in his own way. I find myself staring at Spencer, who shrugs his shoulders and puts his hand on my shoulder consolingly. He nods his head for some reason, and I don't know why. It's like he's waiting for me to speak. Then I remember that, duh, yeah, he came out here to listen to me and see what was up with me. God, I'm so stupid. Really, really stupid.

"So c'mon Freddo. What's it like with you and Sam through your eyes."

"Sheesh, where do I begin…"

"Well, I know that, from what Carly's told me, when you two were introduced to each other, you wanted to be her friend, and she kicked sand on your pants and shirt. And then it kind of just went like that from there on out."

A small grin creeps across my lips at the recollection of that memory. Is it weird that I like the fact that she kicked sand on me? To most, yeah, it probably is. I'm not like most people though, so meh. The first memory of Sam I have is that and it's one of the fondest moments I have of our 'friendship', to use that word loosely. Just one of many, though. One of many…

"Yeah, I remember that like it was yesterday. I mean, I don't know. When she did that, I took it as her hating me and not wanting to be my friend, so I cried. I was a little boy back then, so crying was normal. Carly then somehow convinced me that me and Sam could be friends, and I don't know how she did it, but she made it happen. I guess your sister's just really good at stuff like that. She's a real people person. But yeah, me and Sam…there would be times where we'd get along, then there'd be times where she would humiliate me or hurt me, whatever. It became so frustrating after a while, you know?"

"I think I do, yeah. Believe me, there would be times when I'd pick Carly up from school when she was little and she'd always tell me about what you two said or did to each other, never her own day and stuff. God bless her little soul though, she really cares about you two. She'd tell me how Sam would stick a worm in your hair and you'd throw sand on her shoes and then she'd have to play peacemaker and she'd somehow stop you two from killing each other."

"She still does it to this day."

"That she does."

And now it's time for the awkward silence. I can tell that Spencer's reminiscing about all the times that Carly would talk about me and Sam and our never-ending rivalry, and me…I'm still stuck on what Sam said tonight. I figure the ice needs to be broken again, so I should probably continue with what I want to tell Spencer.

"But yeah, it continued on like that for a while. We'd be cool, then hate each other, and it was just a cycle that went on and on. It wasn't until like, the sixth grade that I realized that maybe I didn't hate Sam as much as I said I did."

"What happened that caused you to feel that way?"

"I was walking out the front doors of school, looking for Carly to see if I could get a ride home from you, but I didn't find her, so I just waited for the bus. But as I was waiting, something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention, and as it turns out, I saw Sam sitting under a tree…crying. I figured that I should do the right thing and see what was bugging her, so I sat down next to her and tried to cheer her up. She didn't even hit me or scream and tell me to go away. She just grabbed me and hugged me, cried on my shoulder and told me about how some boy called her ugly, something really immature. I didn't know how to react. I mean, if you were Sam's personal punching bag for years, and she suddenly started to use you as a shoulder to cry on, what would you think? But I was there for her. We ended up walking home together and she thanked me for letting her cry on my shoulder. Of course, she followed it up with the 'If you tell anyone I cried, I'll make you regret it' threat, but really, the threat didn't matter…I felt like me and Sam really bonded that day. Yeah, sure, she was down in the dumps, but it felt really good knowing that I was there to help her through it. From there on out, I realized that Sam wasn't as bad as she made herself out to be."

"Carly doesn't even know about that?", Spencer asked, amazed that I was able to get that close to Sam without her wanting to rip my head off. I nodded my head and Spencer's eyes grew wide, mouthing to himself, 'Wow'. Yeah. That's what I said when I walked home that day, too.

"So yeah, Sam still treated me like dirt sometimes, and sometimes I fought back, but I always knew that, in the back of my head, she wasn't so bad. She just had it rough and thought the best way of taking out her frustration was on me and anyone else that was dumb enough to cross her. For a while in the beginning, I only thought Sam kept me around because I was friends with Carly. Well, after that day, I figured that she kinda liked my company and accepted me as a friend of sorts as well."

"So that's it?"

"No, there's more…lately, over the past few months, me and her have become…closer. Like, we've hung out where it's just the two of us, no Carly, no you…just me and Sam. It was a lot of fun, you know? I don't know what brought about the changes in either one of us though…she just showed up at my door one day and asked me…well, more like dragged me, to the mall with her, and that was that. I really enjoyed her company…when she's by herself, she's a lot more easy going, as you'd probably know. There was one night, she dragged me out of bed…remember when we did a 'Wake Up Spencer' segment a few weeks ago?"

Spencer nods his head, rolling his eyes before smirking and shaking his head. He had mixed emotions on 'Wake Up Spencer', and eh, I couldn't blame him. He thought it was hilarious…but he wished that we'd do it to someone else. I mean, if that was me that we did that to, I'd be furious…but Spencer's a good sport. And he does more than his fair share of pranks to me, Carly and Sam, so it evens out.

"Yeah, well, after that, me and her walked around town for a few hours, we talked about random stuff, and then we got to the park. We looked at the fountain and then the next thing I know, we're trying to shove each other into the water, but I caught her right as she was about to take the plunge…then she laughed and we started to just…dance. Like, we held hands and we just spun in circles and laughed. It was so much fun, I honestly forgot for that night that Sam and I were always at each other's throats. I was gonna tell her how I felt that night, but I didn't…I don't know why either. It was the perfect moment…and I just got nervous and said nothing. Then she humiliated me on iCarly, then we kissed and ahh...then Carly confronted me and her about it, then I ran, then they talked, and now…now I've missed my chance completely. She's got eyes for someone else. She always ends up hurting me."

Spencer nods his head, eyebrows arched at the whole mention of me and Sam kissing. But he lets it go, and has a sympathetic look upon his face, frowning. He puts his hand on my shoulder. I can tell that he really feels for me, his eyes saying that he wants me and Sam to get together as badly as Carly apparently does. Standing up, he nods his head and motions for me to follow him back to his apartment. Wait, what?

"C'mon Freddie, let's go. We're going back to my place."

"Wait, why? Why are we going back there?"

"You're staying over. And tomorrow morning, whether you like it or not, I'm going to help you get Sam back. Now come on, kiddo, I'm not joking around."

But…_what?_ What the _heck_ is he talking about? Doesn't he know that school…aw crap, we have off tomorrow because of some school-wide teacher convention. Quick Benson, think of an excuse to not go through with this! You're the smart one of the group, think!! Tell him you've got a doctor's appointment early in the morning…yeah, that'll work!

"Spence, I'd like to, but I've gotta be up early, I've got to go to the doctor's tomorrow morning…"

"Oh yeah? With what doctor?"

Crap.

"Uh…you know, the one with the uh…needles and…stethoscope…that one."

And he totally didn't buy that pile of failure. Like I should be surprised.

"Ok Freddie, nice try. Now come on. You and Sam are gonna wake up and realize that you two are being idiots for denying yourselves the opportunity to be happy with each other, and if me and Carly have any say in it, you two will stop doing this to yourselves and act on your feelings! Now come on, let's go!"

So I followed him. I didn't have a choice in the matter, really. Dealing with Spencer was one thing, I could handle that…but dealing with Spencer **AND** Carly tomorrow? No sane person, not even Sam herself, could handle the two of them at the same time. They were like, the dynamic duo, all Batman & Robin-esque. As I exit the fire escape and walk back down the hall, taking the left at the end and walking two feet to 8-C, one thing crosses my mind as I enter and find myself falling asleep on the couch that Sam calls 'home' most of the time.

Samantha Puckett…I think I like…no…I think I love you.

-------------------------------

What was I thinking?

It's the only question I've been able to ask myself since I got home over three hours ago. I've asked myself that same question over and over, and yet, I can't find an answer. Nothing I come up with makes any sense at all. What was I thinking? Oh, I don't know Puckett, were you _even_ thinking? What the hell came over me earlier? Reuben? That nub? **UGH!**

I mean, yeah, he's changed a lot since freshman year, when he would say all these words that made absolutely no sense to anyone but him and Gibby. I mean, he called me a frickin albino dolphin or something like that! I nearly murdered him if it wasn't for Carly and half the school restraining me. Now, he's not as annoying as he once was. He speaks normally and he's grown into his body, and he's cut his hair and spiked it, and he doesn't dress like a total goof. And yeah, he's given me eyes here and there, been all flirty with me and whatnot, but I never really thought anything of it. I mean, yeah, I've been somewhat civil with him and told him to buzz off a few times when he'd flirt, but only because…I've had eyes for someone else. Someone else who I can never, ever be with, no matter how much I want to be. I've come to grips with it. But that doesn't make the pain go away. Nothing will ever make the pain go away. It's the pain of what could be…but won't ever be.

God, how could I have allowed this to happen to me? I'm Sam Puckett, for Christ sakes! I'm the meanest, toughest, scariest girl in all of Ridgeway! I've beaten up more people than most boxers do during their entire careers! I made that freak Jocelyn cry for her mommy and tap out! I took on the entire football team by myself…and won! I'm not supposed to feel like this, feeling pity for myself over a boy. I'm not supposed to like them at all! They're just boys…they never understand what us girls go through or want. Right now though, I don't know what the hell I want. I wanted a boy…but now I can't have him. I know I can never have him. Not after the little act I put on back over at Carly's tonight. I shouldn't even like him to begin with. Ever since the moment we met, I had a feeling that he'd be 'the one' for me. But I couldn't show that. Even when I was tiny, I was obnoxious and abrasive. The first time I ever met him, I kicked sand on his clothes. I couldn't tell him that I thought he was cute, not in front of Carly, not in front of Spencer or him, not in front of **ANYONE**! That's been the basis of our friendship, for the most part. At first, I grew comfortable just making fun of the little nub, humiliating him, torturing him, the works. It carried on like that for a long time…till we started hanging out with each other by ourselves....that night in the park....and that god damn kiss.

Nothing's ever been the same since that night on the fire escape.

Every time I hurt him, it doesn't give me the same pleasure as it used to. Every time I insult him, I don't feel as happy as I once did. I'll push him down onto the ground; I'll feel like I belong there with him. I can punch him in the gut…and I feel like I should be the one getting punched. I don't want to hurt him anymore, but it's my nature to do so. If I stopped, he'd get freaked out and wonder what was wrong with me. I can never let him figure it out.

My thoughts about him are stopped for the moment, as I can hear my phone ringing off the hook, the sound of an incoming text message. Reaching across my dresser, knocking off empty root beer bottles and Fat Cake wrappers, I pick up the device and see that the screen read_ 'One new text message from Carly Fries'_. I gave her that nickname one night when me, her and Spencer were at the Groovy Smoothie and we were eating, coincidentally, curly fries. She said they were the best and I twisted the name around. It's stuck ever since. Flipping my phone open, I read the message and a small smile flickers across my lips. She wants to apologize to me for her outburst. But the smile fades away as soon as I see the rest of her message. _'You're not off the hook though, missy! I'll be over tomorrow afternoon to talk. And don't hide or lock your door. I have a key, remember?'_, and it's then that I groan and fall back onto my pillow. I forgot that she had a key to my place. Great, just wonderful. Now I've got to deal with a surely frantic Carly talking to me about how I'm in the wrong and that I need to wake up and realize that he's the one for me. Doesn't she get it? Doesn't Carly realize that it could never work between him and I? I wish she would…

Look at me. I'm such a mess. My clothes from earlier have been discarded in favor of a raggedy shirt that I borrowed from Spencer (and never gave back) and pajama pants that have little drawings of ham and fried chicken on them. Yep, that's me. Ham and chicken lover extraordinaire. My eyes then dart over towards the dresser again, where my diary rests. Yeah, that's right, even tough girls like me have diaries. Picking it up and looking at what I've got scribbled down, a tear begins to sting my eye. My lip is quivering. Brushing my curls away and focusing my gaze on the poem I've written, I realize that it's quite possibly the best thing I've ever written. And I don't write. Ever. Holding the notebook up in the light, I'm now finding myself reciting it aloud…and somehow, through some miracle of sound, I'm hoping that he hears me.

_"So there's a dork, a dork that drives me crazy._

_He's got brown hair, hazel eyes and a goofy smile._

_I'm supposed to hate him,_

_Be his sworn frenemy._

_But lately, I feel different._

_My insults don't hurt him as much as they used to._

_I punch him in the ribs or shoulder,_

_But they come across as weak by my standards._

_I don't understand it,_

_But then again, I don't understand much._

_He could never figure it out,_

_For as smart as he is,_

_He'd never be able to understand why._

_Why I always insult him._

_Why I always make him miserable.  
__Why I stare at him when he's not looking._

_He'll never understand why, why I love him,_

_When I should hate him._

_But I know he's the one, the only one for me._

_He calls me 'Princess' as a joke, but sometimes_

_I wish that he would make me feel like one._

_I insult him to hide, to hide my true feelings,_

_Feelings he can never find out from me._

_I wish he'd figure it out on his own,_

_Realize that we're meant to be._

_But he probably never will, and so it continues._

_I insult him constantly, but I don't want to._

_I'd love to have him hold me,_

_Tell me that he loves me back._

_Together forever, just the two of us._

_It'll never happen though._

_My insults hurt me more than they do him._

_I want to stop, but it's my nature,_

_Whether I like that fact or not._

_I love you, little boy._

_I just wish that I could admit it."_

And it's true. I do love him. I can't explain why, but I do. My eyes begin to grow heavy, and now I'm finding myself becoming drowsy and it's harder to stay awake. But I don't want to stay awake anymore, not for tonight. In my sleep, all my fantastical little dreams and fairy tales come true. I'm in love, I've got a handsome, magical boyfriend who knows his way around technology, my super sweet, loving best friend, and her zany, hilarious older brother. Together, the four of us are one complete unit, and we can never be broken apart. It's mainly because of him. In my dreams, we really are together forever.

But they're just dreams. Images in my head.

I love you, Freddie.

But you'll never know.

**AN: And that's the end of chapter 7! Now, as a bit of a spoiler, chapter 8's gonna be from a general POV and well...everything hits the fan between our favorite lover of ham and tech producer! What will Spencer and Carly say to Freddie? What will Carly say to Sam? How will it affect everything? You'll all find out soon. Read & review, and thanks again to everyone for helping this reach 3,000+ hits already! You all rock! :)**


	8. The truth and it's consequences

**AN: Hey everyone, I'm back! Real quick before I get into the chapter, I just wanna clarify what I said in my last chapter. Yeah, I said I didn't mind Carly & Freddie being together, and I don't. But I'm still all for Sam & Freddie, no doubt. What I meant by 'I hope they allude to it in future episodes', I meant to elaborate and say that I hope they allude to Sam seeing them dance and go down either relationship road, be it Carly/Freddie or Sam/Freddie. Personally, I hope it's the latter. And that's all. Thanks to the readers and reviewers, 4,000+ hits already! Thanks a bunch!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly. **

She looked up to the sky, and saw nothing but blue with milky white clouds scattered throughout. Looking back down to the ground, she noticed that the grass underneath her feet was the greenest she had ever seen it be. Sam recognized this imagery immediately; it was the typical 'perfect little field' that she'd see in movies sometimes. The field of dreams is what she liked to call it. And here she was, right smack dab in the middle of it all. Looking around, Sam decided that it'd be in her best interest to walk amongst the field, soaking in the picturesque backdrop for this moment, a smile on her lips as she let out a content sigh. This was usually how her dreams started and usually where they took place. She wouldn't mind this place actually existing somewhere in Seattle. Such a place probably did…but it was most likely too far away to make such a trip worth it. But that's why she had her dreams. Everything was perfect, and that was just how she wanted it to be.

A giggle is heard coming from behind her, and Sam whips her head around, blonde curls swinging wildly along with her, looking for the source of the sound. In the distance, she can see Carly frolicking in the extended flower patch, arms extended, wearing the perfect little sundress for this kind of occasion. Her dark brown, almost black hair is blowing in the wind, and the smile on her lips can't be erased. Sam grins widely as she watches her best friend spin and twirl around in the flower patch; if there ever was an image of perfection, this was it. Sam had never seen Carly look happier than she did right now. Sam decided that she wanted in on the fun, so she ran towards her best friend, and the two of them met halfway, giggling and thoroughly enjoying themselves. Soon after the two girls were messing around in the flower patch, Spencer came into focus, riding high on his bike, wearing the helmet that made him look like a psychedelic ladybug. He got off and joined the two of them, randomly dancing, flopping his limbs in fiery passion and jumping around, elevating the good times that the girls were already having.

Sam was loving every minute of this. This was how she wished her life could be like. She wished she could permanently live with Carly and Spencer, because lord knew that her own mother didn't really care for her all too much. And it wasn't that she didn't love her mother, because she did…she just found it hard to do so after all that her mother had done (and was still doing) and all that she had put Sam through. This literally was perfection to her. She felt elegant and classy, like a daffodil, and she had her best friend for life and her awesome older brother there with her. And though this was a dream, it felt so real to her at times. She knew that she'd wake up soon, back in her messy room, in her less than stellar house, with a mom that was never home…but for these moments when she was sleeping and in the dream world…she felt like nothing could ever go wrong. And nothing ever did.

After a few moments of the three of them swinging around and laughing their heads off, Sam began to look around, like she's searching for something…or someone. She sees Spencer grabbing the basket off the back of his bike, in the process of setting up an elaborate picnic, Carly giving him some help in doing so. Sneaking away quietly, she ran out of the flower patch and towards the closest hill, where she could have a view of everything. She had never felt so…alive while doing this. She didn't want to wake up, but she knew she was nearing the end of the dream. It always ended this way, almost on a continuous loop. And Sam didn't mind one bit. The end of the dream was always the best to her. After running for a great while, she finally reached the top of the grassy hill, and her eyes glazed over as she took in the scenery one more time. She felt like she could see all the way to California with this view. But no sooner than had she begun looking at the distance, her eyes drifted down towards the bottom of the hill. And a big smile crept across her lips as she met eyes with the boy of her dreams. He was wearing all white, much like her, Carly and Spencer were as well. His arms were folded across his chest, and he had a loving grin on his face. Without even thinking twice, Sam ran down to the bottom of the hill.

Freddie stood at the bottom, his arms extended, waiting for Sam to jump into his embrace. But instead of slowing down and doing as he was expecting, Sam leaped into his arms and tackled him down onto the grass, the two of them laughing hysterically as they rolled around, having a ball in each other's arms. After playfully fighting for the top position, the two of them came to a halt, right underneath the setting sun, Freddie on top, looking lovingly and deeply into her eyes. They sat in silence for a few moments, the looks on their faces doing all the speaking for them. Slowly, Sam felt Freddie gently brush away a few loose tendrils of her hair, before lowering himself down and kissing her. They stayed like that for a while, only stopping to catch their collective breath. Sam gazed over his shoulder and smiled as she saw Carly and Spencer at the top of the hill, looking down on them, nodding their heads in understanding, both of them grinning madly. Sam turned her attention back to Freddie, who was giving her that romantic look she always envisioned him giving her in real life. He leaned down again and placed a gentle kiss upon her lips, before retracting and waiting for her to say the words she always said at the end of her dreams. She giggled and then gave in to his silent pleading.

"I love you, Freddie."

He smiled and chuckled, before nodding his head, his eyes saying everything, but his voice actually meaning it. Except, tonight, he didn't say what he usually did in the dream. He developed a sad look upon his face, gently stroking hair out of her way, shaking his head in a despondent manner before speaking the words that she doesn't want to hear sometimes.

"It's time to wake up, Sam."

The sky began to fade away, the grass was no longer there, and finally, the image of Freddie slipped from her unconscious state, and before long, Sam was lying awake in her bed. But instead of the happiness from her dream carrying over into her conscious state, Sam began to blink back tears as her hair fell over her face, hiding it from view. Despite the 'perfect dream', as she likened it to be, she knew that it could never come true. She had to keep herself away from Freddie for his and her own good. And though she was pretty sure she broke his heart last night, it was best that she did it that way, and not later on, when it could mean more…

Turning to face the clock, Sam groaned when she saw that it was only 11:45 in the morning. A Friday without school and here she was, awake early in the day. Grabbing her phone off her dresser, Sam saw she had five texts from, guess who, Carly. Then Sam realized that it was almost noon, and that meant that soon enough, Hurricane Shay would be banging down on her door. Rolling her eyes and sighing, Sam reluctantly got out of her bed and dragged herself towards the bathroom across the hall. She felt something furry graze across her ankle, and without even looking down, murmured, "Mornin' Frothy", getting a tired-sounding meow from her three legged cat as she closed the door behind her and proceeded to stare at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was a mess, she had slept with her make-up on, so that was smeared across various parts of her face, and it looked like she had shed a few tears last night, as there were faintly visible streaks of mascara dribbling down from her eyelids. Sam let out a sarcastic chuckle as she reached behind her and grabbed a towel. She had at least ten minutes before Carly would get here, so she figured she'd be able to take a shower and make herself look somewhat decent. But right as she turned the knob on the bathroom door, she heard knocking and a voice calling out for her.

"Sam!! Open the door! I know you're home, so don't make me use the key I have! I mean it! I'll come in right now!!!"

Sam groaned before contemplating one of two things. Option A consisted of her telling Carly to hold her horses while she showered and then talking about whatever it was that Carly was going to yell at her about now, where as option B was the usual Sam Puckett fool-proof way of getting out of something she didn't feel like dealing with; exiting through the back door and getting away for a while. She weighed them both for a few moments before she heard the door unlock and swing open, crashing against the wall.

"Sam! Where are you!? Don't hide from me!"

She thought about quietly tip-toeing down the hall to where the good shower was (long story), but before she knew it, her feet were carrying her there, trying to remain silent in her attempt to get away from her best friend for the time being. Except that wouldn't be happening. She heard Frothy hobble down the steps over towards Carly, and she could only imagine that the three legged cat was doing. But she froze in her spot when she heard Carly's voice ring through the empty house again.

"She's upstairs, Frothy? Aw, thanks!"

Within moments, Carly was bounding up the steps, taking them two at a time, before she reached the top and saw her disheveled best friend standing in the hall, towel in hand, face covered by her mane of blonde hair. Brushing away her hair, Sam looked at Carly in the eye and forced a smile. Her best friend looked at her skeptically, both eyebrows arched. Something seemed…off.

"Good morning, Carly?", Sam said, even though it wasn't meant to be posed as a question. Carly shook her head and made her way over to her best friend and put her hand on her shoulder, shaking her head in disbelief, a small, but subtle grin on her lips.

"Did you just wake up?", Carly questioned, while Sam sheepishly nodded her head. Carly laughed a little before wrapping Sam up in a hug. As she pulled away, though, she saw something that caught her eye. Brushing away some of Sam's hair, she noticed the faint streaks of mascara underneath her eyes, and suddenly became quizzical. Carly thought about saying something but for the moment, decided that it'd be best to forego that argument for the time being.

"Alright, go on, shower and get cleaned up. We'll talk when you're done", Carly said with a smile, while Sam rolled her eyes and groaned. Did they really have to talk about last night?

"Carlyyyy, can we not talk about that?", Sam whined, putting up less of a fight than usual. Carly merely smiled but had a stern look in her eyes that said that she wasn't giving up on this at all.

"No Sam, we are talking about it. Now go on, take your shower. I'll go find something to do…and why're you using the shower in your mother's room? What's wrong with the shower right here?"

"It involves chocolate milk, Vaseline, a high heeled boot, and a picture of Ryan Seacrest…do you really want me to go there?"

Carly shuddered and shook her head. No, she certainly did not want to go there right now, not when there were more important matters at hand that needed to be discussed between the two girls. Sam shrugged her shoulders, her trademark sly grin making it's first appearance today as she mentally laughed at what could be going on inside Carly's head right now.

"Yeah, I didn't think so either. I won't be long, so just…uh, I dunno, go watch TV or something."

"Your TV works?"

"Got a new one. Some old lady dropped one, still in the box, on the street and then ran away, something about how the cows were going to overrun Seattle and strip us bare of all dairy products", Sam said simply, waiting for Carly's confused look to appear. Carly shrugged her shoulders, almost to say, _'What??'_, which caused a smile to appear on the ends of Sam's lips.

"I don't make this stuff up, Carls. Now go on, entertain yourself while Mama gets herself taken care of", she said, patting her brunette friend on the shoulder before turning on her heel and heading down the hall towards the good shower. Right as she slipped into the room, however, she heard Carly's voice call out to her at the last moment.

"We're still going to talk about what you said last night!"

Sam rolled her eyes and let out a defeated sigh as she closed the door and began to get undressed and take her long awaited shower.

"I was afraid you'd say that…"

----------------------------

The birds were chirping outside of Bushwell Plaza, and the sun was just beginning to crack through the glass windows on the eighth floor of the massive apartment building. Freddie Benson was sound asleep on the couch that, most of the time, belonged to the girl that constantly plagued his dreams. He had his body contorted on the couch in such a way that wasn't thought to be possible. His sleep had been fitful, at best, ever since Spencer had ordered him to stay the night here instead of at his place across the hall. He had barely slept a wink, but finally, after much tossing and turning on the couch, he had managed to finally drift off around seven in the morning. But that didn't mean that he enjoyed being asleep. From the moment his eyes shut for good, his mind was clouded with vision after vision of the blonde headed demon, some of them good, some of them bad, some of them indescribable.

Suddenly a loud bang was heard, and Freddie's eyes snap open in an instant, causing him to wonder if something had exploded in the apartment (and with Spencer living there, that was a daily possibility), or if something else had happened. Springing up to his feet from the couch, Freddie spun around in a circle, bewildered, looking around the apartment for any sign of anything out of the ordinary. When he saw nothing, he reasoned that he must've imagined a sudden, random loud bang, and went to go fall back asleep on the couch, when a black and white blur is seen sprinting out from behind the wall into the room, screaming and banging a pot, before the pot is dropped onto the floor and clangs around, before the ear splitting sound of the bullhorn is heard reverberating throughout the room. Freddie does his best to try and drown out the mishmash of sounds, covering his ears with his hands and pressing them there tightly, but to no avail.

"FREDDIE! FREDDDDDIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!", yells Spencer as he continues to push down on the bullhorn, the noise damn near giving his little sister's friend a heart attack. Spencer, however, was oblivious to the noise, having made the smart decision to wear earmuffs to drown it out. Freddie, despite the ringing noise, managed to get over to where Spencer was standing and snatched the bullhorn out of his hand before throwing it onto the floor and kicking it into the kitchen. Spencer took his earmuffs off and had that cheesy grin on his face, while Freddie was just about ready to kill him for that little stunt.

"Ah, good, you're awake, Freddo! Now come on, lets eat some breakfast and get you started back on the road to--"

"Spencer, what time is it?", Freddie asks, cutting in harshly. Spencer frowns before checking his watch and looking back to the disheveled technical producer and giving him an answer.

"It's five past noon, why?", Spencer replies simply, ignoring the slight twitch Freddie's right eye did and looking past the vein that appeared to be ready to burst in his neck and the fact that his whole body was shaking. He did manage to take notice of the sleep deprivation though. "Hey kiddo, did you sleep at all last night? You look bad, man!"

"Really, Spence!? Really!?? **I LOOK BAD!?!?** I got dragged here against my will last night, could barely sleep on this freaking couch, and when I finally get some decent, non-fitful sleep where that blonde headed demon doesn't dominate my dreams, **YOU** come out here and wake me up with a **BULLHORN**!?", Freddie yelled, venting his obvious frustration at poor Spencer, who looked crestfallen. Freddie immediately felt bad for his outburst, knowing that Spencer was only trying to help him get up, just in his own unorthodox manner.

"Hey Spence, look, I'm sorry…I didn't mean to flip like that. It's just…I couldn't sleep very well because every time I tried to…she occupied my mind, and then when I finally got over that, I slept, but even then she was still in my mind…so yeah, I didn't get much sleep."

Spencer's mood perked right back up, a smile on his face once more as he puts his arm around Freddie's shoulder and gives him a light noogie, before leading him into the kitchen and sitting him down at the table. Fetching some orange juice and some bowls to put cereal in, Freddie lay back in his chair and thought to himself about how Spencer's plan (or lack thereof) could possibly work if Sam share the feelings that Freddie had for her. But then something popped into his head, momentarily disrupting his thoughts of Sam.

"Hey Spence", he spoke, watching the older man come to a screeching halt, "Where's Carly?", he asked quietly while Spencer thought for a moment, brushing his hair back before coming up with a response.

"Oh, she left about an hour or so ago, she said she was headed over to Sam's house to talk to her about last night", he answered, not noticing the way Freddie's face fell when he mentioned Sam. "Why?"

"No reason…", was all Freddie could muster at that point. His eyes remained fixed on the table, missing the frown on Spencer's face as he sat down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder, patting him before speaking.

"C'mon Freddie, don't beat yourself up over this. Girls work in very…mysterious ways. One minute you think you've got them figured out, the next, they leave you guessing. It's a never ending game, you know?"

"Yeah, but this is _Sam_ we're talking about here, man. She makes Rubik's Cubes look easy to solve", Freddie deadpans, causing Spencer to chuckle and whisper 'touché' to himself. "Well then, Freddie. Tell me, what is it about Sam that you find so confusing or maddening?"

"You mean, what it is about her that I hate so much?"

"Uh…sure, whatever works for you."

Freddie sat there and wondered, thought long and hard for a few moments about what it really was about the girl that made him tick. A few moments then turned into two minutes; he had known Sam since they were in elementary school, why was it taking him so long to think of reasons for him to hate her? Finally, after what seemed like a half hour, he cleared his throat and spoke up.

"Well…I hate how she's so abrasive. I can't stand it when she's turning my name into some insult. I loathe her eating habits sometimes. I don't understand why she hides herself behind all the clothes she wears. I hate how she always makes fun of me and gives me all this attention…I hate that I'm the only one she really rips on anymore…I hate her stupid blond hair…those dumb blue eyes….that smile…her laugh…I hate it all…"

"Alright then", Spencer began, a knowing smile on his lips as he got up and cleaned off the plate he had been using, quickly bringing over a bowl of cereal for Freddie to pick at while he sat back down. "What are the things you like about Sam?"

"How she's abrasive…I like how creative she is by making my name into a million different nicknames…I think it's awesome how she can eat so much and still look the same…I like the way she dresses because that's her thing…I like the attention she gives me…I like how she rips on me and only me…her blond hair…her blue eyes…her smile…her laugh…"

Spencer merely grinned widely as he watched Freddie slowly swirl his spoon around in his bowl, getting up from the table and walking towards his room, taking out his cell phone and dialing a familiar number. After waiting a few moments, the other line clicked on and Spencer began to animatedly talk to his little sister.

"I think I've got him, little sis", he said into the phone as he waited for his sister's response.

"Yeah, me and Sam just talked ourselves, I think everything's going according to plan! Come Monday at school, these two are gonna be all over each other, we'll need the Jaws of Life to rip them apart!", she said excitedly into the phone. Spencer could almost imagine the big smile his sister wearing right now before continuing on with the conversation.

"What'd you and Sammy talk about? Did she mention anything about last night? Did you have to promise her low fat Fat Cakes?", he murmured, rattling everything off in quick order. He wouldn't of been surprised if she actually did have to give her best friend that treat in order to get her to talk.

"No, I didn't promise her that, but I did say we could go to the Groovy Smoothie after we were done here. Anyways, long story short, she said that didn't know what she was saying last night, gave me the deets on how the nub she claims to like has been flirting with her and how she keeps turning him down, and said that she'd talk to Freddie before school on Monday. What'd Freddie say?"

"That's the beauty of it, little sister. My plan wasn't to get him to talk so much as it was to get him to basically drabble on about how much he liked her. Kinda almost like reverse psychology! It worked last night and it worked again today. So I'll tell him that she wants to talk on Monday, and I'm sure he'll be game for that."

"Alright, alright. This is great! Spence, do you feel like we're doing a good deed here?", Carly asked.

"Oh, totally! We're helping your totally confused best friends realize their feelings for one another. How could you not feel like we're doing something good!", he responded excitedly, pumping his fist as he spoke.

"Hah, yeah, you're right. Well, I better go, Sam's starting to get restless. And you know how--"

"Don't remind me, please. I'm still recovering from the last time she got restless like that. I'll see ya when you get home, be safe and don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"You wouldn't mean train for the football tryouts that **someone** _so desperately_ wants to do, would you?"

"…you aren't funny."

----------------------------

The rest of the weekend had come and gone without much fanfare. It had pretty much gone by in the blink of an eye. Freddie had kept to himself in his apartment for the most part, only leaving to visit the fire escape or to quickly drop by Carly's to run what he was going to say to Sam by Carly and Spencer, both of whom approved his speech. Sam, on the other hand, surprisingly stayed home as well, only venturing to Carly's whenever she needed to have face-to-face girl talk with her best friend and needed some food to bring home and eat, because lord willing her mother wasn't around to do anything. She also did the same as Freddie, running everything by Carly and Spencer to see if they approved, not knowing that Freddie had done the same thing as well. All in all, everything was looking up for the two hopeless romantics.

Monday had now arrived. The halls at Ridgeway were busy with kids, most of whom were either gossiping or getting their belongings from their lockers so they could get to class on time. Sam and Carly were seen walking into the halls, their destination being their own lockers, the place where Freddie was to meet them and have _'the talk'_ with Sam. While Carly was rummaging through her locker, Sam was pacing behind her nervously, twisting her hands together, trying to calm herself but failing.

"Sam, relax, he'll be here, alright? Now stop pacing back and forth, or you'll walk a hole into the ground!", Carly muttered aloud, not even bothering to turn around, almost like she knew what Sam was doing.

"But Carly, what if he doesn't show! I mean, I've never told a boy this before **EVER**, so what if he gets cold feet? I mean…"

"Samantha Puckett, please, for my sake, relax! Freddie gave me his word that he'd be here, Spencer was a witness, and Freddie's word is his bond. Now I have to go talk to Principal Franklin about how we're going to start promoting the junior prom in a couple of months. Please, try not to go crazy with anticipation, alright? Just be yourself, act calm and cool, and before you know it, you and Freddie will stop being ignorant to each other's feelings and we can all be one happy group of friends. I'll see you in English, alright?"

"Yeah…alright Carls. I'll see ya then", Sam murmured softly, a defeated look on her face as she watched her best friend, her life preserver so to speak, walk away towards Principal Franklin's office. So there she stood, alone, at her locker, slumped up against it, playing with her phone, waiting on Freddie to arrive so everything could be sorted out. After a few minutes, she heard footsteps coming her way, and she looked up, hoping it was Freddie…but no. It was Reuben. Oh, joy.

"Heya Sam, what's shakin'?", he said as he put his hand on the locker, standing right in front of her, that goofy smile that she so desperately wanted to smack off his face ever present. She didn't have time for his crap and it clearly showed on her own face.

"Go away, nub. I'm expecting someone in a few minutes, so beat it before he gets here", she said rather coldly, hoping, praying that Carly would magically reappear and tell Reuben to go away before Freddie arrived. But that wasn't in the cards.

"Aw, who you waiting on? Some guy I know?", he said cockily, still smiling as he inched closer to Sam, which only in turn caused her to ball up her fist and prepare herself to whale on him if he got any closer.

"Seriously you jerk, get away from me before I make you regret your existence", she said through gritted teeth. What she wouldn't give for Freddie to show up and get rid of Reuben.

"You gotta chillax, Sam! I'm only here to be your friend! I come in peace! Why can't you deal with that?"

"Because, jerk-face, if you don't go, I'll--"

Just down the hall, around the corner to the left where Carly and Sam's lockers were, Freddie walked in, the door shutting behind him. He took slow, methodical steps towards the lockers where he was to meet Sam. He had everything all mapped out in his head, and he was sure that she'd be receptive to whatever he had to say for once. As he got closer, he heard muffled voices, one that sounded like it belonged to her, and his hopes grew. So she did show up, he said to himself. He stopped, took a deep breath, and then continued. He decided that it'd just be best to say everything right out of the gate and put it out in the open, because the direct approach was what Sam would react to the best, and that's what he wanted.

The voices became clearer, and Freddie grinned inwardly to himself. This was it. Taking another deep breath and clearing his throat, he prepared himself to say what he had been wanting to say for a very long time. "Alright Sam, listen. I've had this on my chest for a while, so here goes. I just want everything to not be awkward between us anymore, and with that said, I really would like to take you out one night, because I really, really--"

He cut himself off when he turned the corner and saw what he saw. It was Reuben. And he was kissing Sam. He blinked his eyes rapidly to make sure this wasn't a mirage. It wasn't. It was the real deal. If his heart wasn't broken enough from the events of last Thursday night, when he heard her admit her feelings for Reuben, then this was the proof that everything was just one big joke. She had played him for a massive fool yet again, and he fell hook, line and sinker. He didn't know what to say or how to react. He just stared. Sam's eyes blinked open, and there he was. She forcefully shoved Reuben off of her and looked between him and Freddie, a look of confliction spread about her facial features. She looked like she was on the verge of tears at this point.

"So, Freddie was the other dude you were waiting for?", Reuben said, mostly to himself, while Sam and Freddie both said nothing.

"Freddie…", Sam began, but Freddie backed off, the look of hurt in his eyes too much for Sam and himself to bear. His lip quivered, so he bit it hard, and then turned on his heel and walked out of the school, wiping away the tears from his eyes as he exited. Sam's own eyes began to tear up, and so she turned to face Reuben, who was still smiling that obnoxious smile. She wanted to **kill** him.

**"HOW COULD YOU!? WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU!",** she yelled in his face, startling him, but not scaring him off like she expected.

"What? Not _my_ fault that--", he went to say, but that was all he managed, as he took a right hook to his jaw, knocking him unconscious, leaving him sprawled on the floor as Sam then punched a locker, leaving a crater-sized dent in it, before letting out a painful scream that echoed throughout the halls of Ridgeway. Tears fell down her face as she fled the halls and left the school, leaving many of the students to wonder what the commotion was about.

The truth and consequences of untold love had taken its toll.

**AN: And that's the end of chapter 8! Hope you enjoy reading and I hope you all review! Thanks, bye! =)**


	9. Cries in vain

**Hey everyone! How're y'all doing? Here's the latest chapter in T & C! Just a little info as to what happens here, it's entirely through Sam's POV and I did it with very little dialogue, which was something I wanted to try and see if it worked out (hope it does!) Sam may seem a little OOC here, but I felt that her mood and overall attitude/demeanor fits in with what's happened in the previous chapters. Other than that, I hope you all enjoy! Here's chapter 9!**

**I don't own anything. At all.**

It's been three days since it happened. Three whole days. I haven't shown my face around school, around town, around Carly's, anywhere, since that Monday morning. I can't fathom doing anything like that at all. Carly keeps texting me every day, calling me every hour, and she's even shown up at my house once, looking around for me. I hid under the porch in my backyard, a place she'd never think to look at in a million years. Other than that though, I haven't really left my room. Other than mandatory trips to the bathroom and to shower, I haven't gone anywhere. I don't even bother with getting myself food; I made sure that I grabbed everything I would possibly need from the fridge, and luckily for me, there were still some left over food lying around from when I last raided Carly's fridge. So there's no reason for me to leave my room at all. I have my food, my computer, my Pear Pod and my bed. I don't need Carly, Spencer, their house, or school. I don't need anyone. I have me, that's what matters the most. If I keep telling myself that, maybe I'll believe it to be true, and maybe I'll get over the constant stabbing pain in my heart.

Oh, who the hell am I kidding?

I've been such a wreck since Monday that the Titanic looks prettier when compared to me right now. Does that make much sense? No, but since when did I ever care about anything I say making sense? It's only a stupid boat…this is more important than that. I can't even look at myself in the mirror without thinking that it'll crack, that's how bad I feel and look. And now my phone's going off again, and you guessed it, Carly's calling. Part of me wants to humor her and give her credit for her persistence, but the other part is telling me to ignore and ignore. That's ultimately what I do; I let the call go to my voicemail, which I'm sure by now is packed to the brim with messages from her and Spencer. That's nice and all, but they're not the one I want to talk to. No, the one I want to talk to has, much like me, fallen off the face of the earth…and it's all my fault. Well, that jerk Reuben shares a bit of the blame, but in the end, it all rests squarely on my shoulders. I don't care what anyone says…it's all on me, and I've lost the one boy who I truly like, the one boy who actually likes me for who I am because of my stupidity. I just can't believe how much of a contradiction I am...I tell my best friend that I like that wad Reuben to hide my true feelings for Freddie (it hurts to even mention his name), and then the next thing I know, he's kissing me and I'm knocking him out...I really can't believe how _stupid_ I am.

From what I've heard through the grapevine (and trust me, I know how things go at that school when I'm not there), Carly arrived literally one minute too late, right after I had knocked that loser Reuben out and stormed out of the building, a screaming, crying, pissed off mess of a girl. All she saw was the dent in the locker and the idiot's unconscious body, put two and two together, and realized that something very bad had happened just moments before. She searched for both me and Freddie (god, it still hurts to say it), and upon finding out we had both left, she too left, searching for the two of us in vain. And that's what brings me to here, sitting alone in my house, locked up in my room, wallowing in my pity and uselessness. I haven't spoken to anyone but myself, and they say that speaking to yourself is either a sign of genius or a sign that you're slowly starting to go crazy. You be the judge of what category I fit into.

The phone rings again, this time the caller being Spencer. I pick up my phone and then scoff as I put it back down on the dresser next to my bed. You think that those Shay's would get the hint by now, that I don't wish to talk to them or anyone. Does it hurt not talking to my best friend and her older brother, two of the three people in my life that have been the most calming presences? Shoosh yeah, it hurts not talking to them. They want to be here and help me through this, and God willing, I want them to be here. But…I don't know, it's just…I can't. My mind or my pride, whatever it is, won't let me go to them for help and comfort. Maybe it's my heart telling me that I need to seek the one that I actually need to talk to for those things. I have, though. He doesn't answer my calls, doesn't respond to my texts, and doesn't reply to my e-mails…Freddie wants nothing to do with me anymore. And it hurts so damn much. I can't say that I didn't see this coming at one point, however. It may sound like I'm blowing smoke out of my nose or whatever, but honestly, if you were him and you got ragged on every single day by me, wouldn't you eventually get fed up and stop talking to me? Yeah, I know I would. It really saddens me though, knowing that it wasn't my constant insulting and bullying of him that caused him to cut all ties with me…it was something I could have easily prevented with my fists or my feet…ugh!

I know I shouldn't feel like this. I'm Sam Puckett! I don't get this way over a stupid, stupid, stupid boy like Fredward Benson. Us Puckett's just don't cry. I'm not supposed to feel weak, broken hearted, alone, frail…whatever you want to say. I'm rough around the edges, harsh, mean spirited, and the toughest chick this side of Tacoma! Yet here I am…alone…my nose is stuffy…my eyes are red and puffy…my fingernails have been chewed right down to the nub…hair is a complete, unfixable mess…I feel so dirty. Being broken and alone like this feels so oddly…normal. Like I'm used to feeling this way. And now I realize that all along, I have been alone. Why didn't I get the picture beforehand? Every time I find a boy to be cute or funny or drop dead gorgeous, I always end up doing something to scare them away…or they always use me as a vehicle to get to Carly. It's funny. Freddie's always complaining or whining about how I hurt him all the time (which is true, and right now, I've never felt so sorry and so bad about it in my entire life), but doesn't he see? He's the smart one out of us three, why can't he figure out that he's wrong? He's not the one that's always getting hurt…I am.

Every single time without fail, I end up getting burned by the male race. I don't know what it is about me…it's like I'm a walking boy repellant. There's been so many boys that I've lost out on because of my aggressiveness…Shane and Pete, just to name a few. There were a few other boys here and there…but none compare to Jonah. I really liked him. _Really, really_ liked him. I thought we were fine together…and then he goes and tries to kiss Carly! I still can't believe that crap, and it happened almost two years ago! I mean, sure, we got him back real good, leaving him stuck to the Wedgie Bounce for close to four hours, but it still stings, you know? I went home that night after I left Carly's and I cried for hours on end, till I finally managed to cry myself to sleep. It was one of the first times I had ever done that…and from that night on, I made a promise to myself not to cry like that over a boy ever again. No matter how much I liked him or how attractive I found him to be, I would never cry over a boy. But then stupid Freddie had to come along and ruin that. Three guesses as to what I've done to get to sleep since Monday.

But yeah....Freddie ruins everything. He's been there for me when Carly couldn't be, when he shouldn't be. He's taken care of me when he had no obligation or business to do so. He looks out for my best interests, and sometimes, I feel like I owe it to him to listen to him, but I never do. He's been my shoulder to lean on a few times here and there. He always argues back whenever I say something about him, and I truly admire that. He puts up with my crap more than Carly does sometimes, because though I do love the girl to death, there's no way I'd ever be able to convince her to come out at eleven at night and walk around downtown Seattle with me. But Freddie has. That's just him…he's always there. He'll never go away, no matter how much I want him to. He's been my best friend and my worst enemy. That's why he ruins everything. I was never supposed to like someone as nerdy like him. No, I was supposed to like someone who could slurp down smoothies and take on the entire football team like I did. A manly man, as Carly would teasingly say. He was supposed to forever and always fawn over Carly, no matter how many times he got shot down by her. She was supposed to be his first kiss, not me. He was never supposed to get over his feelings for Carly and like me. I don't know where he did an about face, but it wouldn't surprise me if the god damn kiss on the fire escape is the reason for the change. The forbidden kiss is what I call it. We forbade each other to ever speak of it again (even to Carly), but it was one of those feel good, sappy moments…moments that I'm supposed to hate. I wish I could have upheld my end of the promise we made that night…_our _promise.

I was supposed to go back to hating him, and he was supposed to do the same thing. Except we didn't. We just had to go against Mother Nature and what she had planned out for us. He was supposed to be Carly's second husband and be Mr. Happy Go Lucky. I was supposed to marry a monster truck driver and live on the road for the rest of my life. I can't explain this all, because I'm still trying to make sense of it. How could we be attracted to each other like this? Maybe I should just stop questioning it. I've found that if I question things in my life, it only leads to more questions and little to no answers. And I'm no good at answering questions, just ask all my teachers. Ugh! There goes my phone again. Damn it, Carly Shay, will you ever quit? I'm not answering the phone! Just leave me alone, girl. Please, for the sake of my sanity. I need to be alone in order to function now. Just me, my food and nothing else. I don't need anything else. Nope…

My phone continues to ring to the tune of 'Miss Independent' by Kelly Clarkson, the ring tone Carly picked for whenever she calls. Ignoring it once more, absent mindedly, I feel my hand reaching underneath my bed, digging around for something that I haven't looked at in quite some time. Upon having my fingers graze the object in question, I pull it out from under my bed and settle it in my lap. It's a photo album…filled with pictures of just me, Carly, Freddie and Spencer. The only three people in my life worth caring about. It's dusty…I haven't flipped through this thing in ages. It's a massive trip down memory lane, but hey, when you've got yourself in a self-imposed exile and have locked out all your friends, what better to do than to remind yourself why they're your friends and why you're locking them out in the first place, huh? Opening the book, I'm hit with the first of what I'm sure will be many painful reminders of everything that was once good in my life. It's a picture of me and Carly from when we were little, and Spencer's holding us up in one arm each. He looks like he's about to pop a vein, but I know that he was only kidding. The next is of me, Carls and Freddie, all with our arms around each other, after Freddie's 8th birthday party. Despite his cake being all over his face, courtesy of yours truly, he's all smiles. We all are. How he could be smiling after I smashed him in the face with his own birthday cake, well, it's beyond me. But he was. The next page has photos of us in various poses or stages in our lives; fifth grade graduation, the spelling bee which I helped the little nerd win, all three of us proudly displaying our art after art class…he had drawn a robot, Carly had drawn a fairy, and of course, I drew a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. What? It's my favorite Italian food! Flipping forward through the pages, I now come across pictures from right before we started iCarly.

There's one of Spencer proudly displaying the finished Bottle Bot, his pride and joy of all sculptures. I mean, heck, if I was a sculptor, I'd be proud of it too. He had to drink 150 bottles of soda to get that bad boy started…can you say stomach pains? Then there's a picture of me and Carls in the auditorium…oh, the torture of having to deal with some of those talent show auditions. I _still_ make Ms. Briggs pay for doing that to us. I'm sure she loved the fruit flies I left in her back seat last week. I'm also sure she loved the toilet paper and stink bomb collage I left on her front lawn. And then there's us. Me, Carly, and Freddie. Spence took the pic a few minutes after the first ever iCarly went off the air. I'm actually hugging Freddie in this picture. Well, Carly's sandwiched in-between us, but that's beside the point. We were all so…happy and overjoyed. Looking at it in the form of a picture, the glee we all shared, makes me miss it that much more. Why can't everything go back to normal? Normal, as in Freddie having an obsessive love for Carly. Normal, as in me constantly ripping on the little tech dork. Normal, as in my best friend not being in the middle of this quarrel between me and Freddie. Normal, as in Spencer…well, he's the only thing that's stayed the same. Spencer will always be Spencer, and I'm sure that we're all glad that'll never change. But still, I digress. What did I do to deserve this? What did any of us to do deserve this wedge, this great divide, be put between us? This goes against the vow we all took after the first iCarly…that no matter how much we got into fights with each other (mainly me and Freddie), no matter what happened between us, we'd never let anything tear us apart.

Another promise that hasn't been held true. What is it with me and making promises? Why can't I freaking keep them? Damn it…how have I managed to be best friends with Carly for this long without her finally getting fed up with my crap and leaving me in the dust? How have Spencer and Freddie not just walked away from me and cut off all ties too? Lord knows I've deserved that to happen so many times in the past for what I've put those three through. But I guess…I guess God gave me a break and decided that I needed friends as patient, good natured, kind and caring as them. Except now one of them pretends that I don't even exist, probably…

Oh em gee. Not the damn phone again! "Carlotta Shay, I swear to God, if you call me one more time, I'm going to break your fingers!", I scream, not even noticing that I had answered the phone by mistake and was now talking to Carly. Crap! I'm such an idiot (though you already knew that)! "You finally answered your phone! Thank goodness, Spencer and I were getting really worried that you'd done something to yourself!", Carly squeals into the phone, happiness and concern ringing through her voice and into my ear. I sigh heavily and roll my eyes, flopping back onto my bed and staring at my ceiling. I make the mistake of answering the phone and now she's going to talk nonstop. Love the girl, but god, when she gets started…there's no stopping her. I'm stupid.

"If by_ 'done something to yourself'_, you mean, grab any and all food from my house, lock myself in my room and not answer my phone whenever you or Spencer call or text me, then yes, I've done something to myself, Carly. I've done something I should of done a long time ago, and that's stow myself away from the rest of the world because I can't do anything without hurting someone's feelings or breaking a bone", I say, the words coming out even harsher than I had expected them to. I can almost see Carly frown over the phone, but everything I just said there is the truth. "Sam, don't talk like that. Where are you? If you're at home, Spencer and I can be there in five minutes, and we can talk. Let me be there for you, Sam", Carly says softly, and for a second, I'm inclined to let her come over and comfort me, because yeah, I could really use my best friend right about now. She could say that everything would be alright, and I'd believe her. What can I say, I'm delirious right now. I'm so hopelessly clinging onto the past, what I had, that I'm blind to the present and the future, the darkness and bleakness that currently surrounds me. She could say anything right now and it'd probably cheer me up. But it'd be temporary…because after the joyous high wore off, I'd be right back where I am right now. And I don't know if I can handle that anymore.

"You don't know when to quit, do you, Carls?", I ask dully, waiting with bated breath for her response. I can imagine her nodding her head. She probably is. "Nope, not when my best friend is feeling down in the dumps, I don't!", she responds in a sort of hybrid mix of sadness and cheer. I can hear Spencer asking how I'm doing in the background, and she responds with something about being on the phone and telling him to worry later. "Are you going to let me come over so I can be there for you?", she asks, and again, I'm contemplating whether to take her up on her offer or to shut her out as I've been doing for the past three days. "I don't know Carly…", but before I can finish, she's cutting me off and pulling the best friend card out on me. Ugh. **I hate it** when she pulls that card out. "Sam, stop it. I'm your best friend. Best friends are always supposed to be there for each other. I know that you're in a bad place right now, but it's really killing me, not being there for you when you obviously are in need of comforting. Spencer's really worried too. Please, Sam, let me in. I'll be there in five minutes, and we can talk and hang out. I just want things to go back to normal. I really hate seeing you like this, Sam. Please", she says quietly, her voice wavering here and there, but coming through with a strong plea nonetheless. I hate it when she does that. I really do. She gets like this, and it's like I kicked her puppy, she gets so emotional, and I feel like I've got no choice but to cave in and let her help me with whatever predicament I'm in. I'm so close to giving in…and I'm about to. Damn it though, she's right…I need to let her help me. "Hold on, Carls, I'm getting another call…just uh…I don't know…get here whenever…use the key. I'll talk to you when you get here", I say, and the last thing I hear before I take the other call is her give a squeal of joy and calling out to Spencer to get the car ready.

"Hello?" Who is this?", I ask in a bored, almost irritated tone. If it's one of those automated voice messages, I'm gonna break the phone and curse off all mobile devices…

"Sam? Are you alright? It's me, Melanie."

My hand subconsciously tightens around my phone. My skin is starting to get hot with anger. I want to scream so bad right now. And just when I thought that this point in my life couldn't get any worse…she calls.

**And that's the end! Hope you all don't hate me for the cliff hanger. Read and review, they mean a lot to me, and I'll be very happy if you do. 5,000 hits! Thanks to everyone who's supported the story, you all rock! Expect chapter 10 to be up soon! Bye!**

**And btw, if any of you are wondering, the review that's signed in under my user name was posted by my brother. I gave him access to my account, and he helped me out quite a bit with this chapter (he's also a big fan of iCarly) and he was the one who wrote that review. Just wanted to clear the air! Thanks for understanding everyone, last time I'm doing anything with this chapter, so enjoy!**


	10. Is it worth it?

**Hey everybody, I'm back!! So sorry for the long delay, school and work have been kicking my ass as of late, so it took a little longer than I'd have liked to get this chapter out to you. Not gonna say much, I'll save that for afterwards. Thanks to those who reviewed and added this to their alert/favorite list, it means a lot! So here goes, enjoy everyone!**

**I don't own iCarly. I want to but I can't. Them the breaks.**

"Whoever you are, go away. I'm not talking to anyone."

If I had a nickel for every time I said that this past week, I'd be a millionaire right now. I'd rather be rich than dealing with this constant struggle that is my life, though. I know, that sounds cliché as hell, but it is a struggle. One which I'm not going to win for a long, long time, if ever. It's nothing new, though. I never, ever win at anything when it involves Sam. I'm destined to be a loser forever…in cupcake throwing contests…in bets about whether Mr. Howard is a robot or not (don't ask)…and certainly a loser in competing for her heart. I was foolish to even think that I was worthy of competing for it in the first place. Me, the dude behind the camera, the technical producer, the proclaimed biggest nub in all of Seattle, winning over Sam Puckett's heart? I was an idiot for thinking I could. She'd never go for someone like me.

"Hey Freddie…"

Oh...why is _she_ here. I don't need this right now. Normally, in a situation along these lines, I'd welcome her presence with open arms. But not now. Carly's the closest thing to Sam that I've come in contact with since Monday morning. What makes her think that being here is going to help me out? Why was she even let in here in the first place?

"What do you want, Carly. I'm obviously not in the mood to be talking to anyone, as you can see, so make it quick."

My words are cold and bitter. I've most likely offended her or hurt her feelings, and again, normally, I'd feel like a jerk for doing that to my best friend. Right now though? Yeah, **no**. Why should I have to concern myself over whether or not I hurt someone else's feelings when my own were just torn to shreds a little over seventy two hours ago? Exactly. I shouldn't, and I'm not going to. Sorry Carly, but not even you are immune to a pissed off Freddie Benson.

"Um…okay then. Um, I was just stopping by to see how you were doing…you know, cause that's what friends do."

I roll my eyes and turn around in my seat to face her. She's playing with her thumbs, keeping her hands in front of her, shifting around nervously as I glare at her. I can tell that she feels uncomfortable right now, that this awkward situation is making her feel uneasy about coming over here. Well then, that's a good thing. I don't need to be bothered with this crap right now. I'm such a mixture of emotions, I feel like I'm about to spontaneously combust and splatter all over the walls. I just…just wish she wasn't here, that's all.

"I'm fine. There's nothing wrong. I'm working on something. Happy now?", I say, the words like piercing daggers coming out of my mouth. I notice her wincing at the harshness of my words, but I don't care. She's got no right being here, even if she is only trying to do the right thing and be here for me, be a good friend.

"Freddie, don't act like this. I know you're bummed and everything, but…"

"_Don't_ act like this? _Excuse me?_ I'm sorry, but where do **you** get off telling **me** I can't act like this? Bummed? I'm more than _bummed_, Carly. I'm an emotional wreck, for God's sake! I've barely slept since Monday morning! I haven't left my apartment at all! I've spoken maybe four words to my mom! And you're telling me to _not _act like this!? Well you know what Carly, just forget you. I have **EVERY** right to be like this. I know it, you know it, and the entire **SCHOOL** knows it. So just go and don't come back for a long time. Leave me alone."

You know those moments when you say or do something, and then immediately regret it literally two seconds later? This is one of those moments. What the heck did I just do? Did I really just explode on my best friend like that? Did I honestly just say all that? Aw man…I can't believe I had that in me. I must have gotten that from my mom, because she only explodes like that whenever I talk back to her or refuse to take a tick bath. Just…_wow_. I can't believe I did that…and now Carly probably hates my guts. The hurt look in her eyes pretty much confirms that. She's backing away, trying to keep the tears that are threatening to fall from her eyelids from doing just that. And if what I said didn't confirm it, then the image of Carly on the verge of tears pretty much sums up that I'm a big ol' jerk face.

"Carly…listen, I…I didn't mean to say all that…it's just, I've been…been really, really upset the past few days, and--"

"No, don't…don't worry ab-about it. I-I'll just go an-and l-leave you alone…I'm s-sorry for coming over h-here and bothering y-you…"

Instinctively, I feel my body lurching forward and grabbing Carly's hand, pulling her towards me and onto the end of my bed, where I quickly wrap my arms around her frail body and hug her, one she reciprocates. It's something that we both need right now, and I'm glad that she didn't storm out of here a complete mess, glad that I was able to get a hold of her before that came to fruition. My shoulder suddenly begins to feel a little damp, and upon looking at it, I see Carly's head buried there, sobbing madly. It's funny, but given the situation and what's happened since Monday morning, I thought that the roles would be reversed, you know? It doesn't matter right now, though. I still can't believe I went off like that on _Carly Shay_ of all people. My best friend, the girl who wouldn't (and couldn't) harm a fly, the sweetest, nicest, kindest girl anyone could ever meet in all of Seattle. And I just screamed and yelled at her, treated her like trash. What the hell is wrong with me?

"It's alright, Carls, let it out. I'm sorry I said all that chizz. I don't know what came over me", I say softly as I rub her back, letting out a hoarse cough, expunging the rudeness that previously had a hold over my vocal chords. She's still sobbing into my shoulder, gripping the back of my shirt tightly. After a few more moments of the only sound being her sobs, Carly finally lets go of my shirt and inches away from me, creating a tiny bit of space between us on my bed. The tears have stopped, but her make-up is smeared and her lip is still quivering. She paws at her face, wiping away any stray waterworks, so naturally, I quickly reach over to my desk and grab her a tissue. She takes it from my hand and proceeds to noisily blow her nose, before asking with her eyes for another one. Without even looking, my hand shoots towards the box and grabs another, lightning quick in my movements. She wipes away the smears and fixes herself up slightly. We both sit here, no words spoken between us, this awkward silence slowly beginning to torture me. I've decided that after another twenty seconds or so, I can't not say anything to my best friend.

"Carly, listen, if there's anything I can do to make that up to you, just say the word, and I'm on it", I state, almost pleading with her, waiting to see if she'll accept my apology. Sure, I've gotten irritated with Carly before, and she'd always forgive me, but never on a level like this. She's giving me a knowing look, her lips curled up thinly as she tosses the used tissues away into the trash. She nods her head and then pulls me into another hug, and as she does so, it feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

I don't know what I'd do if Carly ended up leaving me too…

"It's okay, Freddie, I understand. I shouldn't of said what I said, I didn't mean for it to come across that way. I know you've got a lot on your mind, and I should be here to help you out, not exacerbate the situation. Friends don't do that to their friends when they're feeling down", she says cheerily, the color returning to her cheeks along with the smile that warms my heart whenever I see it. And to think, I almost lost this girl as my best friend because of some stupid, borderline obsessive crush I developed to hide my true feelings for…the demon. I can never do anything right, it seems.

"No, it's not. I don't know what came over me there. I--"

"Freddie, I get it. I'm alright. Don't worry about it. I'm not here for me, you know. I'm here for you."

Carly reaches over and rubs my shoulder, a small grin on her face as my head falls into my hands. Lifting my head back up and letting out a deep sigh, I lean back against the wall, thinking of what to say. What is there to say that hasn't already been said, though?

"I know, and I appreciate that, Carls. But what's there to say or do about it? I can't change her mind. I can't go back and reverse time. I just…I just need to accept the facts and chalk it up to me being an idiot about everything. It's just...I don't feel as if it's worth it anymore."

"Freddie, don't talk like that. This can be fixed, I know it can. You two just need to…sit down and talk, hash out your differences and see where to go from there."

A snort escapes my lips, followed by a sarcastic chuckle. Carly raises an eyebrow at me and gives me a look that says, _'What?'_, but she should know what that was for. The whole idea of me and Sam talking is hilarious. But not _'ha ha'_ hilarious. More like _'you're out of your mind'_ hilarious. Does that even make sense? I hope so.

"What was that for?", she asks, curious as to why I would react like that, obviously. Is she blind to the reason why? I hope she's just acting right now.

"Carly, getting Sam to talk to me right now is like trying to capture a wild goose…it just ain't gonna happen", I say, stating the obvious one more time in an attempt to make myself think that everything is over before it could even fully begin. Carly takes a ragged breath and sighs, her eyes rolling as she pouts.

"Freddie, seriously. Can't you see what Spencer and I see?", she asks pointedly, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion, before the sudden realization hits me. Shaking my head vehemently, I wonder to myself how Carly's suddenly now on board with that idea. Not that it'd ever happen, but still, it's quite the about face from a week or so ago, when the mere thought of Sam liking me and me liking Sam would cause her eyes to bug out and a scream would be elicited from her voice box. Now she's all gung ho as far as everything goes. I understand that she's just looking out for us as our friend, and she only wants what's best for the both of us, but this is just too farfetched, too out of the realm of possibility, even for Carly. It's broken…there's no use in trying to fix it anymore.

"I did, for a short time. You see everything differently through rose colored glasses, Carls. The world becomes brighter, things you used to never notice about people before pop out at you, everything becomes nicer and harmless. You think that nothing can go wrong, and that everything will forever remain peaceful. What you don't realize is, by thinking all that, your setting yourself up for failure."

"Ugh, seriously man, stop this! I hate the way you've become, and in such a short amount of time too! More than a week and a half ago, you were Freddie Benson, one of my best friends, hopeless romantic, and technical producer to iCarly! Now…now I don't even know if you're Freddie anymore. For everyone's sake, please, talk to Sam and settle everything! You both need it!", Carly yells at me, throwing her hands in the air for added effect. The frustration is seeping through her tone, and to be honest, I don't blame her for getting like this. But hey, why isn't she giving Sam this talk, huh?

"It works both ways, Carly. Why haven't you given Sam this talk? Am I just a convenient way of getting your anger out, seeing as I live three feet away from you? Why don't you give Sam a piece of your mind, _huh Carly_?", I ask, almost tauntingly, which in turn causes her to narrow her eyes to slits in my direction. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see her hand shaking, like she's ready to explode, and it's in that short moment that I've done something that not many people have managed to do before.

Piss off Carly Shay.

"I have given her this talk, Freddie! And you know what she said! She said the same crap that you're saying!! She's as stubborn as you are, and it pisses me off! It pisses me off that neither one of you can see what's so clearly right in front of you! Yet you two continually beat around the bush and act ignorant to what the other person is feeling! You two…ugh, you two anger and annoy me **so** much sometimes!"

Personally, I've only seen or heard Carly get like this on three separate occasions the entire time that I've known her. The first time was when we were little kids, and some bully kept making fun of me, and finally, she couldn't stand it anymore, so she lashed out at him in a moment that would have made Sam proud, had she been there. The second time was, according to Sam, when Carly flipped out on her about pretty much ruining my life for telling everyone that I hadn't kissed a girl…talk about a secret there. And the third is right now, in living color, right in front of my face. Do I deserve this? Probably...no, I definatly do. Do I need it right now? Again, probably...yeah, I do. Still won't change the fact that everything is broken though. There's no going back…Carly just needs to realize that so we can all move on and live our lives as best as we can.

"Carly…", I start out, but I get cut off immediately by her putting her hand in front of my face, basically shushing me. I don't try to fight back or argue my point, and why should I? You don't do that with an angry Carly Shay. It's just…suicidal, almost.

"I'm going home, Freddie. I can't do this right now, not in the mood I'm in. Hopefully, you'll take the time that you have to yourself to think over everything, and maybe, just maybe, call Sam. Then again, I told her to do that as well, and look how that's turned out. Oh, and before I go, I just wanted to let you know…don't expect to show up at my place anytime soon for anything iCarly related…I've put the show on hiatus."

That was something I wasn't expecting. iCarly…_on hiatus?_ The words can't escape my throat, my breath is hitching, and suddenly I feel really, really sick. iCarly's a big part of my life…and now it's gone? How…why…what…all over this?

"How could you--"

"I can, and I already have, Freddie. The show will be back when I see fit."

She gets off up my bed and makes her way over to my bedroom door, twisting the knob and swinging the door open, taking one step out before turning to face me one last time, a solemn, but knowing look on her face as she lets out a saddening sigh and speaks.

"You know, Freddie, there was a story that Spencer once read to me a long time ago, when I was a little girl. He'd read it to me before I went to bed every night, and every single night, it never got old. I figure that you might want to hear a synopsis of it."

"Yeah…what would it be about?", I ask, intrigued as to what she's got to say and how this applies to the volatile subject of me and Sam.

"There was once a princess who had a loyal servant, a young boy, who would do anything she asked of him. If she asked him to jump off the top of the castle she lived in, he'd of done it, because he truly liked her. Sure, she treated him poorly and barely gave him the time of day, but he cared deeply about her. Just being around her was enough for him. Eventually, the princess began to develop feelings for her young servant, but he was to be knighted for being such a noble boy, and he was going to be leaving the castle."

"What happened? Did the princess tell the servant that she liked him too? Well!?"

Carly's head drops, her hair covering her face, but underneath, I can make out a sad look upon her face. Lifting her head to face me, she shakes her head. "I don't know, Freddie. Spencer never told me the ending. Looks like I'll never find out."

With that, she walked out, closing my door, leaving me alone in my own little world…where suddenly…I find myself yearning for those rose colored glasses that I was wearing only a week ago…

----------------------------------------

That was harder than I thought. I can't believe I whipped out that old story on Freddie like that. But it's true; Spencer never did tell me the ending to the story when I was a kid. He always left it to me to think of my own ending, but before I ever could, I'd always fall asleep. Call it cruel, but I think it's only fair that I leave Freddie hanging in suspense as well…after all, the story kind of resembles something before my very eyes, doesn't it? Yeah, I think so too.

Opening the door to the apartment, I'm greeted with the sight of Spencer sitting on the couch, feet kicked up on the coffee table, watching whatever he's watching on TV. He's laughing, having a good time, but the laughter quickly stops when he turns his head to face me. Uneasiness washes over him as he stands up from the couch and moves towards me, holding his arms out in a waiting embrace. Instinctually, I walk forward and fall into my older brother's arms, my head hitting his chest. No tears are falling, because I've used them all up. In their place is just…emptiness. And Spencer's picking up on that very quickly.

"So, little sis…how'd the talk with Freddie go?", he asks tensely, rubbing my back in a circular motion. What do I tell him? Do I lie and say that everything's going to be alright? I don't want to worry Spencer…this isn't his problem, and when he starts worrying over stuff, it just creates more problems. But it'd be wrong to lie to him when he's done more than his fair share of help. He's raised me better than that. And I'm terrible at trying to lie…it makes me feel all queasy and rotten inside every time I do!

"Not as good as I thought it would, Spence", I mutter softly, pulling back, out of his arms and flopping down onto the couch, my head thrown back so that I'm staring at the ceiling. He doesn't sit down next to me, instead walking into the kitchen and opening the refrigerator for some milk it looks like. Whatever. Milk isn't going to cheer me up, heck, I don't think anything at this rate is going to cheer me up. I've failed at being Cupid and therefore, my two best friends are going to suffer miserably for the rest of their collective lives. That's probably a really grim and depressing way to look at it, but bear with me, I'm an overly dramatic teenager who's just canceled the web show that made me a bit of a celebrity here in Seattle, and who has two best friends that can't see past their insecurities and ignorance to realize that they're meant to be together. Yeah, really grim and depressing, if I do say so myself.

"What happened? What'd he say?"

"Well, when I first got there, he was really angry and rightfully so, but then I said something stupid and he freaked out and I cried a little, then he said he was sorry, I said it was alright, he deserves to be upset, then I told him it could be fixed, he said it couldn't, we talked back and forth about it, he kept saying all these depressing things, and finally I got fed up with it and told him to stop being like this, that he needed to reach out to Sam and he said that was impossible, then he said I should give Sam the talk I gave him, I flipped out and told him that I did, that he needed to stop this, then I told him the show was on hiatus then I busted out the story you used to tell me when I was a little girl!"

I realize that I said that all way too fast for Spencer to understand and comprehend, but there was no other way of saying it. I can almost see the gears inside of my older brother's head coming to life, trying to decipher everything into something coherent, but then again, this is Spencer I'm talking about. For all I know, he could be thinking about peanut butter and rabid animals. I can't even bother to look at him right now, now that he's standing right next to me again, so I turn my head away and look at the fridge…in an instant, memories of Sam raiding it and eating everything in there rush to my head. In fact, a whole lifetime of memories re-appear, and all took place right there in that kitchen. Freddie sticking the sink hose down his pants…finding out the amount of viewers after the first ever iCarly…trying to convince Sam to have dinner with me and the Dorfmans…Freddie slicing Spencer's banana…Gibby being handcuffed to Sam…everything. I want them all back so bad, but right now, it's just wishful thinking.

"Alright, I managed to pick out you crying, Freddie freaking out, then you freaking out, depressing things, and finally the bedtime story I used to tell you. By the way, I'm surprised you even remember it after all these years…I haven't told you that story since you were like, ten years old. How come you still remember it?", Spencer asked, sitting back down on the couch next to me, turning my head to face him, quizzical look and all. All I can do is shrug my shoulders. I guess when you hear the same bedtime story every night from age 4 till age 10, things have a way of sticking with you. I feel my head fall onto Spencer's shoulder, and he wraps his arm around it, doing his best to comfort me. Then I ask him something that catches him by surprise, it even surprises me too. But I guess I'm just in one of those moods…

"Spencer…would you mind telling me the story again? For old times sake?", I ask, eyes never leaving their spot on the television, which is running commercials for some magical stain removing product, something nubbish like that.

"Sure thing, little sis", he says softly, clearing his throat, taking a moment to compose himself, I assume. "You sure about this?", he asks, getting a nod in response from me. "Alright then. Once upon a time, little Carly, there was a princess who lived in a castle far, far away. She had a loyal servant, a young boy who did anything and everything she asked of him. Despite his work, the princess treated him terribly, often insulting him and belittling his work. The boy didn't care though…as long as he was merely around her, he was happy, because he cared about her. This continued for a long time, until one day, the boy helped save her father's life. It was then, and only then, did the princess finally see her loyal servant in a different light. Eventually, she began to treat him more with respect and admiration than disdain and contempt. However though…the boy was to be knighted and given his own castle as a reward for saving her father's life…and he was going to be leaving soon…it was then that the princess realized what she needed to do."

Between Spencer stroking my head and wrapping his arm tightly around my suddenly fragile body, I can feel another tear begin to sting my eye. Once you get past the corniness of it, for a kid, the story really is beautiful. It's still beautiful now, and I'm a sixteen year old saying that. I really wish that I found out the ending to the story…Spencer once told me that, when he felt the time was right, he would tell me, but lo and behold, it's been like, a lifetime and he still hasn't. I guess I really won't find out.

But then it's like a ray of light has finally broken through the clouds that have been hanging over me, Spence, Freddie and Sam, and it appears right there on the television screen.

Immediately, I spring up and whip my head to face Spencer, who's caught a little off guard by the sudden movements, quickly retracting his hands and looking utterly confused. Grabbing his shirt collar and pulling him towards me, the thought that literally has been on my head for two seconds comes out like a whirlwind.

"SpencerpleasetellmeyoustillhavetheirphonenumberbecauseIreallyneedtoknowifyoudobecauseitwillfixeverythingandIreallymeaneverything!"

His eyes grow a little wide, and his lips are pursed shut, I can tell he's trying to understand why, A) his little sister is yelling in his face in a near-threatening manner and B) why she's speaking like a drug addict who just got his or her fix. He looks around the apartment, like he'd get an answer from any one of his sculptors or some other outside force, but I can't afford to wait anymore. I need answers!

"Well!?!? Do you have the number or what!?", I yell again, causing him to flinch and move back, though my hands never leave his shirt collar.

"What number, Carly!? What's going on, why're you--", he tries to say, only to have my hands upon his head, forcefully turning it to face the television. His eyes grow wide and his jaw drops, before a big, goofy smile creeps across his lips. "Ah ha! So _that's_ what you meant! But wait, how is this going to help..."

"Don't worry about that! Just give me the number, Spencer!!! Give me the number or else your shirt gets ruined!!"

"But…this is my nice shirt…I trained in this today…", he says slowly, before I mess up the collar once more, causing him to rip away from my grip and furiously dig through his pockets for his phone. Instead of his phone though, he produces a football glove, half of a ham sandwich, a whoopee cushion, a sock, a roll of quarters and…a rubber chicken, before he finally gets what I want. All I can do is stare at the items he pulled out of his pants pockets with shock and slight disgust before snatching the phone out of his hand and running towards the stairs up to my room.

"Carly! Why do you need their number and what the heck is going on!?", he calls out to me as I reach the top step, coming to a screeching halt in front of my bedroom door.

"It's important! You'll see why soon enough!!", I yell back down, twisting the door and swinging it open, running inside, my brother's voice still calling to me as I go to slam it shut.

"What's going on!?"

"I'm going to make sure the princess and her loyal servant realize what they can have before it's too late!"

As I slam the door shut and frantically search for the number, I remember Freddie saying that it wasn't worth it anymore. I think I know the answer to that question now.

It is.

**And that's all for chapter 10! Alright, just to point out a few things; it's currently spring time in Seattle, so it's around mid April that this is all happening. It's all gearing up towards the junior prom at the end of the year, and the events that have happened in all these chapters have taken place over the course of a week and a half (crazy, I know, and I hope it all makes sense; don't worry, the next chapter fast forwards a month). And one last note; the story is almost done. There's about four more chapters before it's all over. It's been a blast writing this, and I hope you all enjoy the final chapters, counting down to the end of junior year. That's all for now, hope y'all like this latest chapter, and expect chapter 11 to be out soon. Bye!**


	11. I'm not teaching you how to dance

**Wow, fast update! I didn't think I'd have this chapter done until at least later this week, but here it is. This chapter's a step away from the sad stuff, I figured it'd be nice to have a chapter with some humor and whatnot. Hope you all enjoy, reviews are the chizz.**

**Don't own it, never will. Same goes for the song used as well.**

"Carlaaaaaaaaaaaay", Sam whined as her best friend tugged on her arm, dragging her through the crowded walkway, causing quite a few people to turn their heads and stare at the blond and brunette oddly, before going back to their own business. Carly, however, was undeterred from her objective, which was getting closer and closer with each step she took, no matter how much Sam tried to drag her down, literally.

"Sam, if I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, I'm not letting go of your arm, we are going to the dress store, and there will not be any smoothies or anything beverage related!", she exclaimed as she continued to lug her obviously annoyed best friend behind her as best as she could. Sam rolled her eyes, her lips pouted as she continued to try and stop the forward movement that her body was unwillingly doing, but for a small, petite little thing like Carly, Sam was pretty surprised how strong she could be when the time came for it.

"Can you at least not break my wrist, Carls? Please?", she asked as she tried to pry the brunette's hand off of it, but to no avail. Carly had a death grip on her wrist, and she wasn't letting go any time soon, it seemed.

"Would you rather me drag you by your hair, Sam?", Carly retorted back, which caused Sam to wince at all the times that her best friend dragged her by her long blond curls. Those times weren't fun, not one bit.

"No, the wrist is fine", she responded quietly as they suddenly came to a halt and found themselves situated right outside of perhaps the girlish (and therefore, by Sam's standards, lamest and most nubbish) store of all time; Windsor Dresses. Slightly turning her head to the right to face Carly, she saw a big, almost wicked smile on her lips. Sam immediately turned around and tried to make a break for it, but on this day, Carly was one step ahead of her, grabbing her co-host by the back of her hoodie and turning her right back around. Before she could speak out, Carly hushed her and promptly turned her attention back to the store windows mere feet from her.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?", she asked to no one in particular, knowing that Sam would have a smart remark waiting in the wings for it. Luckily though, the younger Shay was prepared for today. "Say anything smart and I'll make sure Spencer never buys that ham you like ever again", she said right as Sam was about to open her mouth and fire back a witty retort. Instead, Sam's eyes grew wide, jaw dropping, before they grew to slits and she smartly recognized that Carly was trying to bribe her into going into the store. Her face fell and Sam realized that today, no matter how hard she tried to fight it, was going to belong to Carly. Sighing her discontent, Sam then put on a fake smile and said something that caused her insides to churn.

"Oh _totally_, Carls! It's so pretty and awesome, I just _can't wait_ to go inside and spend _hours_ upon _hours_ looking for dresses!", she said in an obviously faux saccharine tone. Carly, ignoring the sarcasm hidden behind the words her friend just spoke, turned to her blond headed co-host and simply smiled. Today was going to be fun. Her plan had been in motion for almost an entire month now, and with less than a month till Ridgeway High had the junior prom, it was now time to kick everything into overdrive. Carly was going to spare no expense when it came to her two best friends, so if that meant she was going to make Sam suffer through looking for prom dresses, when she knew Sam would rather drink toilet water, then so be it. If it meant sacrificing her own social life and getting a date for the event, she didn't care. If it involved keeping Sam and Freddie away from each other (a very hard task, no doubt about it, but it had been working well so far), then she would do it. And if it meant having Spencer lend his own…special way of help, then she'd go along with it. Carly knew, that when all was said and done and the dust settled, her hard work was going to pay off.

"Good girl", Carly said softly, putting her arm around Sam's shoulder, pulling her close to her body. "Now c'mon, let's go get us some dresses, shall we?"

Sam resisted the urge to dry heave and roll her eyes into the back of her head at the question posed to her by Carly. If you had asked her how she wanted to spend her Saturday afternoon (the first one without a Saturday detention in months, mind you), she'd of said something about sleeping and gorging herself on Fat Cakes and beef jerky all day. And she almost did, before her phone woke her up at 11:30 that same morning, the caller being Carly, obviously. They talked and Sam was promised, in no uncertain terms, Fat Cakes and smoothies for going to the mall with Carly. Still too sleepy to realize the trap she was falling into, Sam agreed once the words 'Fat Cakes' and 'smoothies' were spoken, so she showered, dressed and quickly took the bus to the Shay's apartment. Upon arriving, she decided it'd be best if she took the service elevator up to their place, so that she could carefully avoid Apartment 8-D for apparent reasons. But the second she arrived, she was whisked away by Carly, and now, this is where she found herself. She had been mentally kicking herself ever since they arrived and Carly informed her that she had lied about the Fat Cakes and smoothies, but there was nothing she could do about it now. She was stuck doing this, whether she liked it or not.

"Oh, _can_ we? I've been waiting _all day_ for this!", Sam said in that same fake, overly sweet tone. Carly smiled back and detached her arm from her friend's shoulder, laughing as they took their steps towards the store, awaiting the smell of pricey French perfume and brand new prom dresses to hit their noses. "Oh Sam, even when you're being sarcastic with me, you still make me smile", she told her as they walked in and, sure enough, were met with those very smells. Carly took a moment to get lost in it, while Sam did her best not to puke. "That's what I'm here for", she muttered, dropping the fake tone and reverting back to the tone that described her mood; bored, irked and incredibly hungry. Not that Carly noticed or anything. Again, it was all part of the plan…any complaints or problems that she encountered, such as an annoyed and hungry Sam, were ignored or dealt with swiftly. In this case, though, it was being ignored.

"Ooh, what about this one, Sam?", Carly asked, her eyes immediately falling upon a black and turquoise zebra striped dress, holding it out for her to see. Sam groaned as she watched her best friend happily observe the dress.

This was going to be a loooooong day.

-----------------------------------------

_"The word's on the streets and it's on the news,_

_I'm not gonna teach him how to dance with you._

_He's got two left feet, and he bites my moves,_

_I'm not gonna teach him how to dance, dance, dance, dance!_

_The second I do, I know we're gonna be through,_

_I'm not gonna teach him how to dance with you._

_He don't suspect a thing, I wish he'd get a clue,_

_I'm not gonna teach him how to dance, dance, dance, dance!"_

Despite his best tries to drown out the sound coming from across the hall, Freddie realized that there was no way he possibly could. He had been sitting in his living room, trying to watch the news, but the insanely loud music prevented him from doing so in peace. Having his entire apartment to himself, as his mother was out working a double at the hospital, he was free to do whatever he wanted for once.

The music three feet across the hall put a crimp in that plan.

Deciding that he couldn't take it anymore, Freddie sat up from his couch, turned the television off, and walked three feet to the Shay's front door, and, going against what his mom told him about always knocking on other people's doors (he rarely did when it involved Carly and Spencer, though, for lucid reasons), he opened the door and was met with Spencer shaking his ass and throwing his arms and legs out in, as he remembered him calling it, 'a fiery explosion of passion and limbs'. Or something like that. His eyebrows were cocked, and he found no words to describe what he was seeing, so he decided that it would be best for him to just stand in the doorway and watch Spencer do whatever it was he was doing. Maybe it was dancing. A seizure? Freddie couldn't come up with a logical explanation for what Spencer was doing, so he just chalked it up to Spencer being…well, Spencer. And that was more than enough for Freddie.

So he just stood there, watching with great amusement the stuff that Spencer was doing. Finally though, it became too much, and Freddie burst out laughing when he saw the elder Shay attempt to stand on his head several times, only to crash down onto the floor after every single try. After the fourth time, Spencer stood up and nearly jumped out of his shoes upon seeing Freddie standing in his doorway, laughing hysterically.

"What're you doing here, Freddie?!", asked Spencer, a little perturbed and embarrassed that his little sister's other best friend just witnessed him dancing like a fool. When Freddie didn't answer for a few minutes, instead opting to continue his fits of laughter, Spencer's eyes narrowed and he turned the stereo off, nearly tripping over his football pads while doing so. Finally, after a few solid minutes of laughing, Freddie composed himself and gave Spencer an answer.

"I heard the music and I was gonna ask you to turn it down, but I guess there'd be no point to that anymore", he stated, his face still red from all the hysteria, but he was calm and collected now. "What was that you were listening to, anyways?"

"Oh, you know…stuff", Spencer said, his eyes looking down towards, making that face he always made whenever he didn't feel like revealing something. Freddie gave him a questioning look, and Spencer realized that it was suddenly time to start talking about his football tryouts.

"Hey, so you wanna hear about how my Cougar tryouts went today, Freddo?", he asked, grabbing his pads and holding them up, nodding his head excitedly, subtly using his eyes to beg with Freddie to go along with the sudden change of topic. Freddie, however, was still caught up on the strange music that Spencer was listening to, and of course, he wasn't about to let that go right now.

"Yeah, maybe later, Spence. What…rather, who was that you were listening to, though? I thought you only listened to punk and indie rock", said the young, brunette haired boy, taking a step forward, venturing deeper into the apartment, closing the door behind him. Spencer's eyes darted around frantically, looking for an escape. For a second, he contemplated bull rushing by Freddie and locking himself in his room, but that wouldn't be very nice of him, he reasoned with himself. But he really didn't want to reveal this little secret to Freddie of all people. Not that Freddie wasn't a cool kid, cuz he was. But he was one of his little sister's best friends, a little teenager. He couldn't risk Freddie laughing at him and telling Carly and Sa…Carly. So he kept his front up and kept the subject on his tryouts.

"The coach said that I've got a good chance of making the team as a starter on offense! Isn't that awesome?!", he exclaimed, vigorously shaking the helmet in his right hand for emphasis, but Freddie didn't appear to be either happy or intrigued in the slightest. _'Crap'_, Spencer thought to himself. His way out seemed to be getting smaller and smaller with each passing second. What he wouldn't give for Carly to walk in right now…

"That's cool, man. But you still haven't answered my question."

"I might even be the water boy too!"

"Spencer."

"Oh alright! Have it your way! Make everyone reveal stuff they don't wanna reveal! Jerk!", the eldest Shay said, dropping his helmet and shoulder pads onto the floor, both of them crushing his feet upon impact, causing him to wince and yell out **'TOASTY BAGEL!'**. Freddie, after he finished questioning Spencer's choice of words, simply chuckled again as he sat down on the couch next to Spencer, who had moved there and began to massage his feet intensely.

"You alright there, man?", Freddie asked, now concerned for his best friend's older brother. Spencer waved him off and nodded his head, having stopped massaging his feet before slumping back into the couch, sighing dejectedly. The score read Freddie; 1, Spencer; 0.

"So I listen to electro-rock here and there…I can't help it if it's so darn catchy!", he said, throwing his arms into the air for more emphasis. Freddie nodded and grinned. It was all he could do, really.

"See, that wasn't so hard now, was it Spence?", he asked, watching Spencer shake his head in response. He laughed to himself at how big a deal Spencer made it out to be, like it was some big, terrible secret or something like that. The past ten minutes had offered Freddie a chance to smile, something he had done very little of over the past month. Ever since the big blowup, he hadn't seen Sam once, nor had he called her, texted her, nothing of the sort, and to her end, she hadn't done any of that either. Sure, he still saw Carly every day (it was hard not to, considering she did live three feet away), and he still hung out with her, but surprisingly, Sam would never once be mentioned whenever they did talk and chill. He didn't necessarily like it, but he had grown used to it, so there was no point in upsetting the status quo, he thought. In his mind, he was slowly starting to get over it...at least he hoped he was.

"No…but y'know, it was something I liked keeping to myself. I thought you'd of laughed at me when I told you, but thanks for not. I appreciate that", Spencer said simply as his eyes fell on the ceiling. He turned back to face Freddie and then answered his other question. "Oh yeah, and as for the band, they're called Black Kids."

"Pardon?", responded Freddie, taken back a little at what he heard.

"They're called Black Kids. Awesome name, huh?"

"Uh…I guess", was all the tech producer of iCarly was able to manage as far as an answer went. What kind of a band would name themselves that, Freddie didn't know. But he laughed at the fact that of course Spencer would like some obscure band with an…interesting name, to put it lightly. Again, that was just Spencer being Spencer. He was used to it by now, had been for a few years.

"Yeah, I know, right! The name of the song's called 'I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You', and usually I play something by them or some other catchy electro-rock band whenever I'm alone and in a good mood…so, you wanna hear about my tryouts now?", he asked eagerly, having said all there was to say about the subject, and now wanting to gush about how well he did today on the football field.

But Freddie didn't want to hear about them. Sure, that was rude of him, and he knew that Spencer really needed to tell _someone_, but it was something he heard a few seconds prior that got his brain working. He realized that he wasn't a very good dancer by any stretch of the imagination, and he knew that junior prom was looming on the horizon. A question began to formulate in his head, but he didn't dare ask Spencer. It was a question more reserved for Carly, but she wasn't home and who knew when she'd be getting back from the mall. So either he could wait, or he could ask Spencer and see how it went from there. And Freddie didn't feel like waiting at the moment.

"Hey Spence…you said that song, it was about not teaching someone to dance with another person, right?"

Not realizing where this was going, his face fell, but Spencer answered nonetheless. "Yeah, it's called 'I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You'. Why?"

"Well…I was wondering…I was gonna ask Carly, but she's not here, so…would you mind teaching me…how to possibly…dance?"

Spencer cocked his head back and began to laugh, though not in a disrespectful way, which relieved Freddie a great deal. But when Spencer didn't hear the young brunette laughing with him, he turned his head and faced him, eyebrows arched, giving Freddie an incredulous look. "Oh. You're serious."

"Yeah."

Spencer nodded his head and pondered this for a moment, stroking his chin and thinking of the pros and cons of the question asked of him. After a few more moments of thought, he looked at his sister's friend and smiled, thinking he had yet another witty joke to give for an answer.

"Well, unlike the song, I **am** gonna teach you how to dance…with whoever it is you're gonna dance with at junior prom", the older brunette said, pumping his fist and lightly tapping Freddie on the shoulder with his fist, chuckling while Freddie grinned and shook his head at how lame it sounded. Spencer realized that the joke was flat and quickly changed his demeanor accordingly.

"Well then, let's begin."

-----------------------------------------

"So…you never did tell me what you and Melanie spoke about on the phone a while back."

Sam and Carly now found themselves sitting in the over-populated food court, having grabbed the last available table to sit at (after Sam threatened to behead a rather portly man who wanted to make a mad dash for it). Carly munched on her salad, while Sam sat in her chair, staring blankly at her half-eaten cheeseburger, picking at her fries with a fork. She didn't even realize that the brunette across from her had asked a question till she looked up, confused and muttered, "Huh?"

Carly giggled at her blond headed best friend's obliviousness as she dug back into her lunch. "I said, you never told me what you and Mel spoke about when she called."

"Oh", Sam said, not wanting to go there right now, if at all. "Nothing of importance", she stated lamely, knowing that Carly would see right through that and pry even further. Sam silently bemoaned having such an insightful and caring best friend like Carly. If anyone else had dared asked her that question (with a lot of emphasis on the word _'dared'_), she'd of punched them out without giving it any thought. But this was Carly…and she was her best friend…need she say more?

"Right, and the junior prom isn't of any importance either", Carly said with a grin, sticking her tongue out at the blond. Sam returned the favor before picking up a fry and eating it.

"Well, to be perfectly honest Carls…", Sam began, but she was quickly cut off again by the brunette. She had been doing that all day, constantly insisting that today wasn't going to be spoiled by negativity, which irked Sam, seeing as she was filled with nothing but negativity for a while now. But Sam realized that this was important to Carly, so she sucked it up and went along with it.

"Come on, Sam, what'd you talk to Mel about?", Carly asked once more, knowing that Sam hated being asked a question more than twice, especially when it came to subjects like her twin sister. Sam sighed and rolled her eyes, taking a small bite out of her cheeseburger and washing it down with some Peppy Cola before carefully choosing the right words to say.

"Alright, if you insist…", she began. "She said she had talked to you before she called me, something about her texting you to see how everything was going?", Sam questioned, getting a nod from Carly in response. "She also said that you said something about how everything was…well, wasn't so hot", she continued, getting a sympathetic look from Carly, before she waved it off. "No big chizz, Carls, it's cool. Anyways, after I stopped threatening to break something, I calmed down enough to be somewhat civil with her. She asked me how everything with…how everything was going, and I was blunt with her. I had a rare moment of compassion and generosity, and asked her how everything at her ridiculously overpriced boarding school was going…then, I dunno, one thing lead to another, and she told me something that's been bugging me ever since our talk."

"What was that?", questioned Carly as she finished up the remains of her salad and neatly placed her trash on the tray, pushing it aside so she could prop her elbows up on the table.

Sam shook her head, as if she was trying to get rid of something, but it didn't work. Looking slightly annoyed, Sam responded, "I can't seem to stop thinking about it, but uh, she said that we only live once. Something about how if you see something you want, like, or both, then you should make every effort to make it yours, because like she said, we only live once. I don't know what she meant by it, or whatever, but after that, I kinda thanked her and we ended the talk", Sam finished, picking her cheeseburger back up and taking a big bite out of it, not looking at Carly's face, which was twisted into something of a subtle, yet gleeful, smile. _"If you only realized that what you want lives across the hall from me, Sam…"_, she murmured softly to herself, though Sam was able to pick up on it near the end, looking up at her best friend and arching an eyebrow, the look on her face asking, 'What?'. Finding a quick cover, Carly smiled and shook her head, putting the blond across from her back at ease.

"Oh nothing, Sam. Now c'mon, let's go. Since you've been such a good girl today, I'm gonna reward you", she said as she stood up and tossed her trash in the garbage can a few short feet away. Sam, having heard that she'd be rewarded with something, perked up immediately, finished off the rest of her burger and fries in two massive bites, and chugged the rest of her Peppy Cola before nonchalantly tossing her stuff in the direction of the garbage can, watching it fall short. Carly, being the good person she was, sighed with a smile, picking up the trash and disposing of it before taking her place next to Sam as they began to weave their way through the massive crowds of people towards the front entrance, where the bus back to Bushwell Plaza would be awaiting them.

"So, what's my reward for being the best best friend ever?", Sam asked, putting her arm around Carly's shoulder, grinning from ear to ear as they got out of the crowd and took the escalator down to the first floor. Carly returned the grin as she pulled out a package out of her bag, showing it off to the blond, who squealed in excitement. "No way! Season five of Girly Cow!? I've been trying to find that for months! How'd you get it!", she exclaimed in joy as she took the box out and began to examine it front to back.

"Oh, you know…I don't spare any expense when it comes to my best friend", Carly said as she ruffled Sam's blond tresses, the words taking on a deeper meaning to Carly, as they stepped outside into the warm May weather that Seattle had been blessed with out of the blue. Turning to face the brunette, Sam leaned forward and planted a big kiss on Carly's cheek, eliciting a giggle from her co-host.

"Carlotta Shay, have I ever told you how much I love you?"

"No, Samantha Puckett, not recently, you haven't."

"Well then, let me say it; Carly Shay, I looove yooou."

"I know, Sam", Carly responded as she returned the kiss and stepped onto the bus, destination, Bushwell Plaza. "The feeling's mutual." As the bus roared to life, Carly looked over at Sam, who was looking out the window and smiled, whispering to herself "I'm not alone in that feeling, either."

-----------------------------------------

"So…how're you gonna explain this to your sister?"

Freddie and Spencer looked around at the apartment and held their breath at the sight of it. Everything that wasn't nailed down to the floor (or that wasn't a sculpture) was tossed around, basically in complete disarray. Splatter marks of various paints were all over the floor, and it literally looked like a bomb had gone off in the middle of the room. Freddie looked around, humming to himself, while Spencer eyed everything with a worried look; Carly was going to **kill** him when she got back. But he could fix this…at least he thought he could. He had Freddie here with him, so two people would quicken the pace of the cleaning, and Carly said she wouldn't be back for a few hours and he was _totally_ going to feel the wrath of his little sister when she got home.

"We could always tell her that a hurricane swept through the room and caused this", Spencer said, completely serious in his tone as he moved his hand over his mouth, eyes wide as he realized how much trouble he had caused in the span of ten minutes. Freddie looked up at him and cocked his eyebrow, hoping that Spencer wasn't serious. But then again, it was something he'd say at a time like this.

"Uh…we? What do you mean, _we?_ You were the one who flailed around and did all that crazy stuff that caused this mess in the first place!", the brown haired teenager said loudly, gesturing with his arms the events that transpired.

"You were the one that wanted to learn how to dance!", Spencer said, defending himself and his spastic actions from before. Or at least, he was trying to. He figured he wasn't doing that good of a job.

"Yeah, I wanted to learn how to dance like a normal person, not fling my arms and legs around and break stuff like a psycho maniac!", Freddie shot back as he used his arm to point out the damage that Spencer had caused all by himself. Trying to find a good enough comeback, Spencer bit his lip and winced. That was when he realized he had no good comeback. Turning his head away from the wreckage for a moment, his eyes met those of his Bottle Bot, whose red orbs were flashing at him. "Don't give me that look", he muttered aloud in the direction of his most prized sculpture, causing Freddie to back away an inch or so, smartly recognizing that Spencer was in one of his moods…and during said moods, he would talk to his sculptures…he didn't ask why, he just did what Carly told him to do, and gave the older Shay his space.

"Come on, Spence…we should try and clean some of this up before Carly gets back. I don't want to see the look on her face if she sees the place like this", he said as he moved towards the kitchen, grabbing a couple of rolls of paper towels. But Spencer hadn't moved from his spot in front of the Bottle Bot.

"I mean, **you** may think it's alright to stare at me like that, but** I** created you! **I** own you, and you will **NOT** give me those looks in my inner sanctum!"

"Hookay then…I'm gonna go clean up the paint, feel free to uh…join me whenever you can", Freddie said in the direction of the older brunette, but really, he was saying it to nobody in particular. As he began to get rid of the paint, a loud ringing was heard, and Spencer quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket and almost dropped it. That only meant one thing.

"Carly says she's on her way up", Spencer said softly, now closely resembling that of a ghost, he had grown so white in the span of five seconds. Freddie took this as his cue to immediately drop everything and make a hasty retreat back to his own apartment, where he'd be safe from the wrath of Carly. He felt bad leaving Spencer behind to take the rap, but…yeah, he really didn't feel like dying today, so he bolted for the door, but saw that Spencer had gotten in his way.

"Oh no you don't, you aren't leaving me here to get my arms ripped off and used as golf clubs!", Spencer cried as he stood with his back pressed to the door, blocking the only escape route for the teenager.

"Spencer, I didn't do this, I can't have Carly yelling at me for something I didn't do!", he near screamed as he tried to push Spencer out of the way, but to no avail. Thinking on his feet, Freddie decided to try something that he'd seen Carly do a few times in the past; taking his fingers and jamming them into Spencer's sides, he began to tickle him, watching Spencer's face scrunch up and giggle like he was a toddler. Once he had successfully gotten him out of the way, Freddie opened the door and slammed it shut behind him, right as the service elevator dinged, signaling the arrival of Carly and Sam. Quickly throwing himself into his own apartment, he was able to hear the following outburst.

"Spencer, I'm ho--"

"Woah, daddy."

"Oh…my…god…"

"Dude…what happened here? Did someone die?"

"SPENCER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHERE ARE YOU!?!?!?"

A silence was heard for a few moments. But then Spencer's voice, coming from his locked bedroom, rang out almost on cue.

"SPENCER'S NOT HERE RIGHT NOW, HE WENT TO CANADA TO ICE SKATE WITH HOBO'S. PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE AFTER THE BEEP…BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!"

-----------------------------------------

After cleaning everything up and straightening Spencer out (once Sam had nearly succeeded in breaking his bedroom door down), the two girls found themselves sitting on the couch, eating the Chinese take-out they had ordered, their eyes glued to the television screen as they were in the middle of watching season 5 of Girly Cow. They had now moved onto the fortune cookies, and boy, were there plenty of them. As the girls cracked open the first two, Carly laughed at the fortune inside the tiny cookie.

"What's it say, Carls?", Sam asked, peering over to see what was so funny about it.

"It says, 'An unexpected event will soon bring you poverty and unhappiness'", the brunette said as she placed the fortune on the table next to the couch and proceeded to take another one. "What's yours say, Sam?"

"It says, 'You should NOT have eaten the chicken'…whatever that means", the blond stated dully as she crumpled up the tiny piece of paper and threw it on the floor, not noticing Carly rolling her eyes and huffing as her best friend's poor manners. "What's the next one say?"

"This one says, 'Help me! I'm trapped in a fortune cookie warehouse!'. Aw, poor fortune cookie!", Carly murmured, giggling as she placed it on the table to her right. "And yours?"

"Ahh, this has Spencer's name written all over it. 'Secrets await you at the city dump.' Maybe we should inform him of his destiny, eh Carls?", Sam said as she playfully elbowed the brunette in the side and motioned with her head in the direction of Spencer's bedroom. Carly rolled her eyes and stifled a chuckle as she picked up the next cookie and cracked it open to see her fortune.

"Your hard work will probably never pay off. Wow, talk about mean spirited", Carly said quietly as she repeated the motion and grabbed another cookie, noticing that Sam hadn't grabbed one. She did notice, however, that Sam had stuffed the broken cookies into her mouth and was chewing away. "Alright, here's my next one. I know what you did last Thursday. NOT COOL…okay then, I think I'm done with the fortune cookies for tonight. You want the last one, Sam?"

"Yeah, sure, why not", the blond responded, having swallowed the cookies, grabbing the last one off the table and cracking it open, reading it carefully. After a few seconds of silence, her eyes fell, and Sam closed them, letting out a deep breath before getting up off the couch.

"Sam? What's wrong?", Carly asked, not leaving her position, but still worried nonetheless. Sam took her hand and jerked her thumb in the direction of the bathroom, before saying, "Uh…bathroom. Be right back." She was then off and gone quicker than a flash of lightning. Feeling curious, Carly grabbed the tiny paper and read the fortune to herself. Upon finishing, she looked towards the bathroom, then towards her door, the smile that she had been wearing for the better part of the whole day ago never once leaving her lips as she put the fortune next to all the other ones, before throwing her garbage out in the kitchen. As she returned, she read it over once more and couldn't help but continue to smile at what it said. No wonder why Sam had rushed off to the bathroom, she thought to herself. As for the fortune, it said something that was highly ironic, given the situation and plan put into motion. What did it say, you ask? Simple.

_"You will fall in love with a total nerd."_

Carly couldn't agree more.

**And that does it for chapter 11. As for the ending here, as I was writing it, I was thinking of many ways to conclude it, but none of the ideas I came up with were any good, but then I went to and looked at a few of the characters previous blogs on the site, and I saw the fortune cookies on Sam's, and it was there that I had my ending. I know, it's probably cliche as hell, but eh, I thought it was cool xD. So there ya go, again, reviews are the chizz, and see ya next time!**


	12. It takes two to tango

**First off, I just want to give a massive thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and any previous chapters...reviews really make my day, and it was so awesome seeing them all. You guys rock! Second off, I want to apologize for the long delay...school kicked my ass and work hasn't been much easier as of late, so it was hard to find the time to sit down and solely focus on this. But here I am with the next chapter, so I hope you all enjoy this. Again, sorry for the wait, I promise that chapter 13 will be up quick. Here it is!**

**I don't own iCarly, but it'd be cool to...even if only for a day.**

* * *

"Hi guys and girls watching this video, it's me, Carly!"

The brunette haired web comedian stood in front of the stationary camera that Freddie had left behind, waving to the many people that would eventually see this message online. To the normal viewer of , it didn't look like the host was any worse for wear. She looked like her normal, cheery, funny self in front of the camera. But to anyone who had seen her over the past few days, Carly Shay was a total mess. She had gotten, at best, an average of 3 hours of sleep per night, as evidenced by the heavy bags under her eyes before she covered them up with make-up. Her hair was frizzy and looking like it hadn't been tended to in a month before she threw it together into a loose pony tail. Her arms hung at her sides limply, which was attributed to having gotten no sleep. She was constantly pulling a Sam and falling asleep in all of her classes, and even found herself dozing off during junior prom committee meetings. In front of the camera, Carly was herself. But when it was turned off…

"Just wanted to give all you faithful iCarly viewers a heads up that, yes, we're still on hiatus, but there's no need to worry for much longer! Me, Sam and Freddie will all be back on the web on June 22nd! That's right, June 22nd is when iCarly will be back and better than ever! So count down the days, webites, because if you don't, you're a jerk! Bye!"

Shutting the camera off and letting out a small sigh of relief, Carly placed Sam's remote down on Freddie's cart after she used it to dim the lights, and glanced around the studio where the three of them had created so much magic for the past two and a half years. The show had been off the web for a little over two months, but to Carly, it felt like an eternity. But she knew that what she was doing was for the best for iCarly and for her two best friends. When she told them of her decision to put the show on hiatus, the reactions she had gotten from her co-host and tech producer were what she expected (Sam had nearly killed something and Freddie tried arguing it till the bitter end), but she had to do it. Having them in such close proximity to each other was not part of the teenaged Shay's plan, and she was sticking to it, no matter what complaints came from either side.

Closing the computer on the cart, Carly exited the studio, but not before looking through the glass of the door one last time, a reminiscent smile on her lips before she turned on her heel and made her way downstairs to the first floor of her apartment. Upon reaching the bottom step, she saw Spencer working on his latest sculpture, one that he was making for the junior prom. Arching an eyebrow as she watched her older brother work out some kinks, she couldn't help but grin as she cast the odd looking work of art an intrigued gaze. "Spencer, what's that supposed to be?"

"It's the sculpture you asked me to do for your prom, remember?", he said, eyes not leaving a spot on the sculpture, calculating what he was going to do before he grabbed a chisel and hammered out a jagged edge. "Why, what's the matter with it?"

"Oh, nothing's wrong with it…I'm just wondering what it is", Carly responded carefully, not wanting to sound rude. The older Shay poked his head out from behind the massive piece of…whatever it was, brows furrowed in confusion, acting like his sister should know what this sculpture was, seeing as she asked him to make it in the first place.

"It's supposed to be a fire hydrant that's come to life…you said the theme of the event was 'The Big City', right?", Spencer asked, swearing to himself that that was what Carly had told him when she originally asked for this sculpture to be made. Carly slowly shook her head and Spencer, not realizing that she was completely serious, took this gesture as a joke.

"Oh come on, Carls, quit pulling my leg. I clearly remember you saying that the theme was 'The Big City', so that's what this life sized, soon-to-be-talking fire hydrant is for", he said, an air of self-satisfaction in his voice as he vigorously pointed to the unfinished sculpture, smiles abound. But Carly shook her head again and Spencer began to grow a little irritated with his sister's 'act'.

"No, Spence, I didn't say that…I said that we watched a video in my English class where two kids got _lost_ in the big city without anyone to guide them…not that it was the theme of the junior prom. We all agreed on—", the brunette was saying before Spencer waved his arms frantically and cut her off mid-sentence.

"Why're you lying? What have I told you about lying, Carly? Does it make you feel all cool, lying to your older brother like this?", he said in rapid fire succession, causing Carly to shake her head again and extend her arms out, as if to ask, 'What are you talking about?'. Spencer, however, was undeterred and continued pressing forward. "Seriously, little sis, not cool. Lying to me is so wrong…I thought I've raised you better than this."

"Spencer, I'm not kidding! It's even posted on the fridge! The theme of the junior prom this year is 'Aquatic Wonderland'. You know, like the lost city of Atlantis, stuff like that. I asked if you could make like a mermaid or something of the sort…not a…what did you say this was supposed to be?"

"A talking, life sized fire hydrant…", Spencer muttered unenthusiastically, realizing that he was wrong after glancing over his shoulder and looking at the freezer door, where the notice was posted. Sure enough, it said 'Aquatic Wonderland'. "So…guess I gotta take my fire hydrant apart, huh?", he asked dejectedly. Carly gave her older brother an apologetic look, but then slowly nodded her head, with Spencer sighing loudly as he took a sledgehammer and, in one mighty swing, took about half of the sculpture out, leaving debris and all sorts of stuff strewn about the floor. She shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes, wanting to reprimand her brother for destroying stuff in such a manner, but she was far too involved with the ideas running through her head that pertained to her plan. Walking past what was left of her brother's sculpture and into the kitchen, she grabbed herself a can of Wahoo Punch and sat down on one of the barstools, still deep in thought.

"So, what'cha thinkin' about, sis?", he asked, taking the barstool next to her and sitting down, opening up the iCarly homepage to find the video she had just recorded up on the site. "And what's this new video all about?", he asked, minimizing the window so he could look up some art supplies that would help him with the new sculpture he now had in mind for the 'Aquatic Wonderland'.

"Oh, stuff", she replied distantly, her eyes fixed on the wall near the stove. "And what video?"

"This one", Spencer said, pointing to the screen, where the video of her telling the iCarly fan base that they'd be back on the web near the end of June. "You've given a date as to when the show'll be back on?"

"Yeah, why? Is that a bad thing? It's May 29th right now…the prom is on the 20th of June…two days in-between will be more than enough time to map out a new iCarly", she stated, resolute in her plan that everything will be peachy and alright with the world by then. Spencer, however, wasn't so sure, and Carly could tell by the look on his face.

"What, you think I'm getting ahead of myself?", she asked, turning to face her older brother, who was now on the opposite side of the island, picking up an apple and shining it before taking a huge bite out of it. "I didn't necessarily say that…", he began but just as quickly as he started, he was cut off by his sister. "You didn't say it, but you were thinking it. You don't think my plan will work out sufficiently enough to get a webcast out by June 22nd, do you?"

"Carly, we already talked about this the other night, and countless other times before that. I have every reason to believe that your plan is absolutely fool-proof. I know that you're putting your heart and soul into this, and I know that you are also sacrificing your own social life and the possibility of getting a date for this just for your two best friends, and I really, really admire that. Dad would be proud of you if he was around to see this, and you know I already am. It's just…this is…_girl_ and _boy_ we're talking about here."

"Spencer, they have names, you know."

"I know, it's just…still a tiny bit weird, imagining Freddie and Sam getting together. I mean, yeah, I know that I told you all that stuff about how I had been noticing them acting all weird and flirty around each other, but still…_it is_ Sam and Freddie we're still talking about here", Spencer said, shaking his head slightly, imagining his sister's best friends actually being happy with each other and not wanting to go for the other's jugular every five minutes.

"I know, I went through that phase myself, Spence. But I sat down and thought about it, and I came to the conclusion that if nobody else seems to make them happy, the only people that can make them happy are each other. And if they can't see that, then I'm going to make sure they do", Carly said firmly, conviction in her voice. As she sipped her drink, she noticed Spencer smiling out of the corner of her eye, before he went back to looking at supplies for him to buy. "So, how's it going so far, anyways? The plan, that is."

Carly leaned back against the countertop, grabbing a few grapes and eating them delicately. She thought about this for a moment, absent-mindedly twirling a strand of her hair around her finger as she finished eating another grape. She wanted to gush about how well it had gone so far, but she didn't want to jinx or get ahead of herself. But it was a classic case of so good, so far.

"It's alright. I've already got most of it mapped out in my head…it's just a matter of keeping them separated from each other until the night of the junior prom. That's the hardest part of it all, but other than that, everything else is falling into place accordingly…except for getting Sam to buy a prom dress. That's been tougher than I thought, but she'll come around", the teenaged brunette responded as she got up from her seat and tossed her can in the garbage. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to basically play keep away like this for this long?"

"No, I don't, but I can only imagine", the older Shay replied as he closed out the internet and stood from his seat, making sure to carefully avoid stepping on any debris from his demolished sculpture. "Do they mention each other when they're hanging out with you?"

"Rarely. It's kind of depressing not hearing Sam call Freddie a nub or hearing Freddie talk about how Sam's a blond headed demon. But then again, it only makes me realize that everything will be so much better after the prom, so I can deal with it till then."

"Yeah, that does sound like a bummer", Spencer remarked as he walked over to the coat rack and grabbed his jacket. "Hey, what time did you say you were going back to the mall with Sam to look for more dresses…you know, all that girly stuff I don't really like talking about?"

"I told her to meet me here around two, why?", she spoke as she walked around the kitchen table and towards the couch, where she was planning on sitting down and watching some TV before her best friend got here. She saw her older brother motion to the door with his head, a small grin on his lips as he clasped his hands together, acting like he had just stumbled upon some new, space alien-like materials to use for a sculpture. Or he killed another goldfish and was trying to cover it up.

"You wanna go out and grab some lunch real quick before Sam gets here? Figure I should reward you for all the work you're putting into this, ya little miracle worker!"

"Shouldn't you be training, though?", Carly asked, sitting up from the couch, grabbing her purse and jacket, walking out the door towards the elevator located down the hall from their door.

"I should…but I shant."

"I thought shant wasn't a word."

"Possibly."

"Ugh, you're so weird sometimes, you know?"

Spencer smiled, running his hand through Carly's hair and messing it up, getting her to giggle as she gave him a quick embrace before they entered the elevator and prepared to head downwards.

"I know…and I wouldn't have it any other way, little sis."

* * *

"Dude, we just went last week…how many dresses can you possibly look at, Carls?"

"Sam, how many times do I have to tell you that this isn't just for me, that it's for you as well?"

"But I don't wanna go to the stupid junior prom! I don't wanna get all pretty for one dumb night so guys can pretend to be interested in me before going back to fearing and wanting nothing to do with me!"

"Sam…"

"Well, it's true…Mama does make the boys tremble with fear."

Sam and Carly found themselves back inside the friendly-but-almost-always-crowded confines of the King County Mall, once again looking for prom dresses as the day grew closer and closer. And again, Sam was dragged out here by her best friend, when she only wanted to be left alone with her television and beef jerky. Sam wondered how she let herself get drawn into these situations, and then she realized it was because she didn't like letting Carly down. At all. The guilt of disappointing her best friend would always outweigh her own personal dislike of whatever it was Carly had her doing. And boy, did she hate prom dress shopping.

"That fact aside, I'm doing this because I want to see you have fun, Sam. You just haven't been yourself lately, and I want to help change that. Believe me…you'll have a lot of fun at the junior prom", Carly reasoned, not hinting to or letting onto the fact that she knew way more about it than her best friend did.

"You know why I haven't been myself…there's no point to any of this at all, Carls", Sam stated glumly as they entered the shop and began to scour the aisles, looking for dresses that caught their fancy. Well, Carly was looking and enjoying herself as she did so, whereas Sam was merely walking the aisles like a zombie, showing absolutely no interest in the things her eyes were looking at. "Are we done here yet?"

"Sam!", Carly exclaimed in a whisper, so she wouldn't draw attention to herself. The blond haired co-host merely rolled her eyes and let out a disgruntled sigh as she continued to half-heartedly scan the racks, looking for a dress that she would much rather use as a door mat than to wear. "You find anything yet, Carls?", she whined as she stopped to tie her shoe.

"I think I found something here…what do you think of this one?", the brunette asked as she held out a coral colored dress that sparkled in the light. Looking up from the ground, Sam glanced at the dress Carly had in her hands and arched an eyebrow. If it were anyone else, she'd give a brutally honest opinion, one that would most likely end up with the other girl in tears. But this was her best friend…and coral seemed to fit her nicely. It just seemed so nice, bubbly, innocent and beautiful…everything that fit Carly to a tee. There were times where Sam felt…inadequate, around her best friend. And how could she not? Carly was gorgeous, she was…well, she was a big tomboy. Carly was nice and funny…she was mean spirited and rude. Boys drool over Carly…she'd be lucky if one of them even gave her a second glance. She wasn't jealous of her best friend, oh no. She promised herself a long time ago that she'd never be jealous of Carly, or any other girl, for that matter…but still…it stung a little bit every time a cute boy crossed their paths and he went for Carly instead.

Besides, Sam had had her chance at finding a boy who liked her…and it blew up in her face.

"Normally Carls, I'd say something mean…but to be perfectly honest, I think that dress suits you perfectly. I look at it and it screams, 'Carly Shay, buy me, buy me, and make all the boys at junior prom drop their jaws!'", Sam said, laughing as she playfully nudged her best friend in the shoulder, Carly returning the favor as well.

"You really think so, Sam?", she asked as she held it up in the light, taking in the design, the detail, and every other little thing about it. "Ooh, one hundred percent polyester", she mused jokingly as she found the little tag with the price on it. "Hmm…pretty good deal…you really like this one, Sam?"

"Better than that zebra striped horror show you showed me a few weeks ago", the blond said off-handedly as her eyes continued to trail up and down the aisle, her body following suit. "Lame…terrible…nubbish…jank…seriously, who'd wear this?", Sam remarked as she held out a puke green abomination in particular, that looked like it had been run through the ringer a few times too many. She went along the aisle, muttering bad things about the dresses...and then she saw it.

At the very end of the aisle, standing alone, was, to Sam, the best dress of the bunch. And that was saying something, seeing as she _hated_ wearing dresses to begin with. Like a zombie who had just found unsuspecting fresh meat to dine on, she slowly began to gravitate towards the holy grail of all prom dresses, leaving Carly behind to behold it's beauty all by herself. Once she got up close, she was almost afraid to touch it; scared that it would fall apart if even one of her fingers grazed across the sash. She didn't deserve to have this dress, let alone stand this close to it or fantasize about actually wearing it. It was white and blue and, according to the note on the display, it said that it was 'the dreamiest little white prom dress.' Well, Sam thought to herself, it certainly was dreamy…and so soft! Having sucked up her small fear and having found the courage to touch the dress, Sam was amazed at how it felt…it was like it was practically melting in her hands. The rhinestones on the waist were a gorgeous touch, and it was strapless…so she could let her hair down and not tie it up into some ridiculous looking bun or ponytail…Sam knew that she shouldn't have been doing this, for fear that Carly saw her, but she couldn't help it. Standing next to it…being able to touch it…made Sam feel like the princess she had always wanted to feel like. Looking around over her shoulder for any sign of Carly, Sam was prepared to snag the dress, run to the counter, pay for it, and then hightail it back to her house and hide it there. But then she saw the price tag and her natural high sank along with her heart; Sam knew she couldn't afford the $129.90 dress, and there was no way she'd ask Carly for the money, for a variety of reasons. She'd considered stealing it for the briefest of moments, but then came to the conclusion that she'd feel like the worst person ever if she stole something as pure and scintillating as this dress. So, her hopes dashed and spirits crushed yet again, Sam was about to turn around and tell Carly that she was ready to go, when, out of nowhere…

"Nice dress, huh?"

The blond spun around to find her best friend directly behind her, almost as if she had appeared there out of thin air. Sam tried to find the power to put her thoughts into words, but all she came out with was babbling and stuttering, while Carly giggled at her friend's reaction.

"Oh, what…this little thing? Psh…it's nothing, um…special", Sam sputtered out as she suddenly became completely interested in her shoes and their various colors. She was cursing herself over and over, wishing to be anywhere but in this store at the moment. Even detention seemed like a cheery getaway compared to here, with her best friend giving her funny looks, in a stupid dress store.

"You like it, don't you Sam", Carly stated simply as she held her already purchased dress in her arms, a grin plastered all over her lips that Sam would have smacked off had it been anyone else. She didn't dare look Carly in the eyes, didn't dare look at her face, knowing what was already coming and preparing herself to deflect everything as best as she could.

"What!? No…me, like some stupid, prissy, frilly, jank as hell dress? For a stupid dance that I don't even want to go to? Come on, Shay, you know me better than that…"

"Then look me in the eye and say that, Sam."

Sam closed her eyes tightly and growled under her breath. She shook her head vehemently, not wanting to look up, wishing that this wasn't happening right now. She knew that if she looked at Carly, her resolve would wither away and Carly would have her right where she wanted. Sam felt vulnerable, not that it mattered, but still; no matter how often it had happened as of late, she hated it, especially when it came to something like this, with her best friend right there. But sure enough, she found herself looking at her friend in the face, attempting to become the badass chick she had always been known to be, putting on what she thought was her best steely _'If you weren't my best friend I'd beat the crap out of you with a spatula'_ glare. Carly, however, was unfazed by the glare and continued to stare at her best friend with an expectant look, waiting for her to say the words that she knew she wouldn't.

"This dress is totally…totally…cool", Sam whispered, lowering her head back down while Carly let out a squeal of excitement and hugged Sam, not minding that she might be crumpling her dress as she did so. Sam, however, stood there, lifeless as she was jerked around by Carly, hating having to admit defeat like this, but hey, if it was going to be anyone, it might as well be her BFF. "There, you win, Shay. But I honestly can't think of enough words to describe how wicked awesome this dress is…it's like, perfect!"

"I know, Sam. You should have seen the look on your face when you first saw it, it was like you had been handed the keys to the Fat Cake warehouse and was told to go wild", the brunette said with a hint of laughter as she began to rummage through her pocket, in search of her wallet.

"I mean…it's so pretty…but I'm not worthy of wearing this dress…and it's not like I can afford it anyways…dresses like these, they're for pretty girls like you, not someone who slurps smoothies like a trucker and eats way more meat products than any normal teenage girl should", the blond said solemnly, kicking the ground, stealing another glance at the dress she could never wear. Suddenly though, she felt Carly grab her hand and place something in her palm, something light and papery. She looked down and saw a wad of money there, and looked up to face Carly, who was smiling as she slid her wallet back into her front pocket.

"Uh…Carls…not to sound rude or ungrateful…but remember the last time I had money and what I did with it?", she said, remembering the time where she spent all of it on some really expensive foreign beef jerky that made her sick for a week and a half. Not a fun time for anyone that had the misfortune of seeing that…poor Spencer, he was probably still recuperating.

"It's not for anything like that, Sam. I'm giving you this money so you can buy that", Carly said, pointing to the dress right behind Sam, watching her co-host's eyes grow wider than flying saucers. She then began to shake her head vigorously, thrusting the money back at Carly, but she wouldn't have any of it. She took the money and put it back in Sam's hands, motioning with her head to the dress and then the register at the front of the store.

"Go on, get your dress. You don't have to worry about trying to pay me back or anything like that. Spencer knew that you'd need money to get yourself one, so he gave me the money to give it to you", Carly asserted while Sam took it all in for a moment, before mimicking her friend's movements from a few minutes ago, jumping into her arms in a big embrace, the two of them having a moment in the middle of the store, not that they cared or anything.

"You really are the best, Carls, Spencer too. I owe that brother of yours big time!", Sam exclaimed as she grabbed the dress delicately from the display, then half-ran, half-walked to the register, with Carly following closely behind, the smile on her lips beaming as bright as the sun, knowing that yes, despite some of the small doubts that she and Spencer had touched upon earlier in the day…

Everything was going according to plan.

* * *

"Fredward? Fredward, where are you?"

Freddie rolled his eyes as he sat in his room, surfing the web, listening to his angsty playlist of music from his Pear Pod, wishing his overprotective mother would just leave him alone for more than a half hour at a time. But then his bedroom door swung open and, sure enough, there stood his mother, worried look in her eyes (when _didn't_ she look worried), looking at her only son for an answer to her question, even though she clearly had it sitting a mere four to five feet away from her, in his chair, almost paying her no mind, before he lifted his eyes from his screen to meet his mother.

"I'm right here, Mom", Freddie stated dully, waiting for the outburst from his mother that was sure to come. But surprisingly, it didn't. Instead, his mother stepped inside to his room and closed the door behind her, sitting next to her only son on his bed, trying to peek over his shoulders and see what it was he was doing.

"I'm not doing anything unsanitary or illegal, Mom", he muttered, shifting uncomfortably in his seat, moving his laptop away from his mother's eyes. Mrs. Benson frowned, but was undeterred.

"Fredward, it's alright. I'm not going to flip out or demand that you take a tick bath. I just want to see what my baby boy's looking at", she said softly, giving Freddie a look, while he rolled his eyes and handed her the laptop, wishing she'd just leave him alone right now so he could do what he was doing in peace.

"Oh, you're looking up tuxedos? That's so adorable, Freddie. So you are going to your junior prom?", she asked, looking at the various vests and all of the colors you could get them in, smiling to herself while Freddie shrugged his shoulders and took the laptop back for his own use.

"Maybe, probably not. Just looking them up in the off chance I change my mind", he said sluggishly, yawning as he stretched his arms out, trying to shake the drowsiness away. He hadn't slept a lick in over two days, and it was taking it's toll on him and showing in his school work. But all he heard about was 'junior prom this' and 'junior prom that', and frankly, he was getting tired (literally) of hearing about it. But seeing as his best friend was a girl, and this girl happened to live across the hall from him and just so happened to be on the junior prom committee, she was in his ear, dogging him about it as well. Freddie always wondered why his best friend was a girl, but he just went with it and made due.

But Carly kept hounding him and hounding him until he finally agreed to start looking for tuxes, more so to shut her up than to actually look for one. Yet here he was, looking for one, Carly's words ringing in his ears like some kind of bad infomercial that came on TV a zillion times a day.

"Freddie, there's no way you're missing this prom, and there's no way that I'd let you. You're going to get a tuxedo, you're going to go, you're going to enjoy yourself and keep me company, and that's final!"

Well, there were other words spoken too, but that and this phrase remained stuck inside his brain.

"Please, for me?"

Freddie truly hated how Carly could get him to do anything just by uttering those three words…

He had been browsing for anything that caught his eye, and truthfully, despite not wanting to get a tuxedo and go to the stupid prom, he had found a few that were pretty nice (which, obviously, meant that his mother would instantly hate them and find something so tacky and out of date that he'd regret even looking in the first place). So, needless to say, he was expecting the worst when his mom opened her mouth to speak to him.

"Freddie, listen…I think we should have a little talk."

"What about, Mom?"

"About this girl that seems to have you acting all disheartened…I know you don't like to talk about who she is, and for the world of me I can't understand why, but I respect that. I just feel that we should talk about it…if you want to, that is."

As weird as it sounded, Freddie didn't dare tell his mother about Sam and how she was the girl that was causing him to act like this. He knew that she didn't approve of her one bit, and needless to say, he saved himself many arguments over not revealing her identity. Did he want to tell his mother that Sam was the girl he had eyes for, that she was the one that was the reason for his behavior over the past two months? Of course he did, because he knew that she'd hate it, but there'd be nothing she could do about it. Not that it mattered anymore. Sam was out of his reach (not that she'd ever been in his reach to begin with), and there was no point in trying to change that.

"Yeah, sure, if you want to…"

"Alright, good…I thought you'd push me away, tell me there's nothing to talk about. Anyways…I know that, you feel wronged by whatever it was that this girl did…and you have every reason to. But don't you feel that, maybe, this girl is hurting as much as you are?"

He had never really thought of that until just now. What if Sam really was feeling remorse, or she didn't mean to do what she did? He was so consumed with his own loathing and whatnot, that he never once thought that she, perhaps, was suffering emotionally as much as he was…

"And maybe you need to, you know, reach out to this girl and see what's going on with her? Maybe talk, hash out your differences, and get back onto a level field…maybe try a chance at reconciling? I know I'm really not one to speak on such a subject, but I really hate seeing you like this, Freddie. I know that I can be aggressive and over-protective a lot, but it doesn't change the fact that you're my whole world and that I love you. I only want what's best for you, and maybe, I feel that what's best right now is to talk to this girl that you have your eye on…"

Freddie looked at his mom and raised an eyebrow. Who was this woman in front of him and why was she acting like this? For once, he didn't feel the urge to ridicule something she had said. He just stared at her, completely amazed that she had offered that nugget of wisdom to him. How did he react to that? All he could do was shake his head and smile in the direction of his mother, before wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace, which caught her off guard. However, she returned it, before Freddie released his grip on her, grabbed his laptop and showed her the tux he had been looking at.

"This is the one, Mom…what do you think?"

"Oh, I absolutely love that shade of blue! It suits you perfectly. Is that the one you want?"

"Yeah, totally…you really think it'll look good on me?"

"Of course, sweetie…now go on, I'll order everything, you go start dinner, alright?"

"Okay…and Mom?"

"Yes, Fredward?"

"Thanks. I love you too."

Marissa Benson smiled as she nodded her head, watching her son exit his room as he ventured to the kitchen. But before she began to order her son's tuxedo, she took her son's cell phone and dialed a familiar number, waiting for the other line to click so she could deliver her message. When she got through, she grinned as she relayed what she had to say.

"Hello…oh I'm doing fine, thanks for asking…yes, I'm calling to deliver a message to your little sister, Spencer…yes…yes…everything's great…just tell Carly that Freddie's going to be attending their junior prom after all."

Smiling contently to herself, Marissa Benson placed her son's phone down and walked to the kitchen, feeling good with herself, knowing that she had done her part in getting her son closer to the happiness that she knew he deserved.

* * *

**And that's the end of chapter 12! Only two more chapters to go! :( But fear not, I plan on making them great and worth the wait. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed last chapter, reviews are appreciated...I'm off to celebrate my 21st birthday, so bye! Thanks again though, really, you're all the best. See ya next time!**


	13. All that we needed

**Hey people, what's going on? Before I say anything else, thank you to everyone who's stayed with me during this story, reviewed it, favorited it, added it to their alerts list, etc. It really means a lot, and I can't thank you all enough. Well, that's all there really is to say. I thought that iQuit iCarly was well done (Spencer & Gibby on a boat...joy. Gives me inspiration for a future one shot). Fleck & Dave were pretty funny as well, and the little short movie, 'The Blowing', was hilarious, especially the bit where Gibby's shirt flies off. And that's about it. Here's chapter 13. Only one more chapter to go :( Now later on in the chapter, it'll be kinda rapidly switching back and forth between Sam & Freddie's POV, so to at that point, Freddie's POV will be in bold and Sam's in italics. And now, without further adieu, here's chapter 13!**

**I don't own iCarly. Or the band and the song used. But hedge clippers can be the answer. Sometimes.**

* * *

Well, from the minute I woke up today, to the second I saw Carly's bright, shining smile at her locker, to the moment the final bell rung to signify the end of school, one thought, and only one thought, has run through my mind.

Tonight is going to **suck.**

And I'm not joking, either. I was roped into this by Carly, my own mother roped me into it as well, add that to the fact that I've got no date, and this night is shaping up to be just another boring night, not the best one of my young life. Even going to Spencer for advice didn't make the prospect of dressing up in this penguin suit and acting like I'm happy for three and a half hours seem promising. Quite the change of demeanor over the past few weeks, huh? I've gone from totally liking the idea of going through with this and hanging out with my best friend to loathing it and looking for any way to get out of it.

The junior prom is going to be the worst night of my life.

I think I'm the only person who's ever said that in the history of junior proms. But that's just me, I guess. I've got no date, as I didn't feel like asking anyone, and really, none of the girls at school appeal to me much, except for Carly…and I barked up that tree for far too long. And then there's…oh, I shouldn't even bother going there anymore. That bridge was burned a long time ago, and there's nothing I can do about it. Well, that's a bit of a lie. I _could_ have done something about it, numerous times I might add…but I just didn't have the heart to do so. It was, you know, kinda broken and torn apart into tiny pieces when I walked into school that April morning. So yeah, I could have and probably should have tried to make amends, discover the truth and whatnot…I just can't explain why I didn't. I guess that it's just something that I've grown used to. Girls wouldn't even look in my general direction until Carly befriended me, with Sam unwillingly coming along as well. It was like that for the longest time…sure, once I was friends with them, girls would look at me, maybe even speak to me if they dared…it was like that for a while. But then things changed once I 'went out' with Valerie, if you could even call it that much. I have nothing nice to say about her and the way she used me, tried turning me against Carly and Sam…ever since then though, girls have noticed me more and more. Probably my deeper voice or the fact that I've grown into my body. But that stuff aside, I've turned them down, thinking that eventually, my badgering and persistence would land me the girl of my dreams.

"Oh Fredward, you look so handsome!"

Except something happened along the way. I grew less and less interested in Carly, to the point where I barely showed my affection for her. She's still my best friend, don't get me wrong, but I just…I don't even know what happened. I guess I grew out of that phase of crushing over Carly and putting her on a pedestal. Well, I still do, but not like that, not anymore. It all changed when Sam and I kissed that night on the fire escape…

"And you look so clean and spiffy, too!"

Like something inside me woke up and told me that there were other girls at Ridgeway. Like my mind just slapped my subconscious and went, _'There are other fish in the sea besides Carly. She's your best friend, and don't forget that, but you can't have her. Keep looking…'_ then I opened my eyes, where I saw Sam's blue orbs staring back…that's when I knew. I just had a feeling that she was the girl my mind was telling me to look for, leading me towards. To be honest, up until our first kiss, I had been noticing how Sam had changed in tiny ways, despite 'hating' her. Her hair was getting longer and crazier. She stopped wrapping herself up in multiple layers of clothing. Her smile became more radiant, whenever she chose to smile. It was the little things…and I couldn't help but to become enthralled. I wanted to know more about Samantha Puckett than I already knew, and for a while, I did just that. We hung out by ourselves more and more, and we shared some really fun times together. It no doubt pleased Carly to see us being friendlier with each other than we were hostile, but don't get me wrong; we still 'hated' each other like we always had. But it was official. I was over my crush on Carly…and I was totally beginning to crush on Sam.

"Sweetie, don't do that, you'll mess up your jacket."

I knew that, potentially, I was setting myself up for failure, for heartbreak, something along those depressing lines. I didn't care though. I hadn't felt that way about a girl in such a long time, it was a thrill ride for me. I knew that liking Sam and even asking her to go out with me would get me to open up more, to be more free and outgoing. And she was beginning to open herself up to me a little bit here and there, and for someone like Sam, who didn't trust many people not named Carly or Spencer, it was a huge deal for me. Sure, we had been 'frenemies' for the longest time, but she rarely opened up to me about anything, usually saving that for the Shay's, or, in classic Puckett fashion, she'd keep it bottled up inside and find ways to vent about it; usually in the form of using me as her own personal doormat. At first I just thought she had serious anger issues (which she does), and I was just a convenient target for her aggression. But as time wore on, and we grew closer as friends, I realized that she had every reason to be the way she is. Broken home, father who left her at an early age, sister who's living the high life at some private boarding school, mother who barely gives her the time of day…I still marvel at the fact that she's gotten this far, is as tough as she is, and is still kicking. But all of the growing closer as friends, all the fun times, the first kiss…it all amounted to nothing. She likes that nub Reuben. I caught them kissing each other. She hurt me yet again, this time more than she could have ever imagined. I wouldn't be surprised to see those two together at the dance tonight. It wouldn't bother me that much, either. I guess I'm over it. Huh. Who the hell am I kidding?

I'm not over it.

"There you go, Freddie. You look very suave. I'm sure Carly and the rest of the girls will be impressed."

"Thanks, Mom."

"You'll be the sharpest dressed boy at the entire prom."

"Mom…"

"Ohh my little baby is growing up right before my eyes!"

There I was, staring at my reflection in the mirror, decked out in the tuxedo my Mom ordered for me. As much as I don't like to brag, I kinda have to admit that I look pretty good. For a tech geek, that is. And surprisingly, Mom wasn't going overboard with the grooming and trying to make me look as presentable as possible. I did most of this myself, believe it or not. But that didn't stop her from bull rushing me the minute I finished applying the finishing touches and talking about how precious I was and how I'm going to knock all the girls dead with my good looks. I was supposed to be over at Carly's ten minutes ago, but I guess my Mom doesn't care about me keeping Carly waiting. Her arms wrap around my body, pulling me close to her chest, where she's got me in a smothering embrace. I've been told that this sort of thing happens regularly before proms, that the parents get all over-emotional and whatever. Except my Mom is always like this, so it doesn't really feel different from any other time. As she whispers stuff into my ear, I feel my phone vibrating in my jacket pocket, and I can only imagine that it's Carly calling, wondering just where the heck I am. Gently pulling away from my Mom, I pick up my phone and see that, yep, it's Carly, and quickly respond to her text message before facing my mirror once more for good luck.

"Well Mom, that was Carly. I should really get over there, Spencer wants to take pictures of us before we go."

"Alright, Freddie…tell Spencer to give me some of those pictures. Have fun and please, be safe. Call me when you get there, okay?"

"Yeah, sure thing, Mom."

She gives me one last hug before letting me through, smiling all the way, towards the front door. Right as my hand touches the cool, brass knob, I hear her call to me once more, causing me to turn around and face her.

"Freddie."

"Yeah, Mom?"

"I love you, sweetie."

A smile begins to tug at my lips. I know I criticize her a lot for her crazy, borderline insane parenting antics, but deep down, I know she really does do all of it out of love. And just hearing her say it means the world to me. So I walk back over and give her a big, tight hug, just so I can show her that I appreciate it and that the feeling is mutual.

"Love you too, Mom."

And with that, I was on my way over to Carly's…maybe tonight won't suck as much as I think it will.

* * *

_Thirty minutes earlier…_

"Sam! Just come out of the bathroom, I'm sure that you look fine!"

"I'm not leaving this room, I'm not going to the stupid prom, and I look horrible!"

Carly and I have been doing this for the past ten minutes. I haven't even looked at myself in a mirror, but I know that I don't feel like myself. I'm out of my element. She wants me to come out of the bathroom and show her and Spencer how I look, but I just can't. What if they laugh at me? Well, I know they wouldn't laugh at me, Carly's like a sister to me and Spencer's as much a fatherly figure in my life as I'm ever going to get, but…ugh, I just don't know.

"Please Sam? For me?"

"That only works on the dork!"

"Saaaaaaam…"

Great, now she's whining. I can barely hear Spencer in the background, asking his sister why I'm locked up in here, but they should know. These stupid proms and dressing up like this…they're not for me. They're not my style. I'd much rather be at home scarfing down Fat Cakes and yogurt from Pink Bunny, or I'd rather be out roaming the streets and looking for a thrill. My idea of a good time doesn't involve dressing up like some fairy tale princess and having boys drool over me, the same boys that wouldn't look my way on any other day, or the same boys that are straight up terrified of me.

"Sammy?"

Oh great…

"It's Spencer. C'mon out, we won't laugh or judge you, or whatever. You know us better than that."

"Spence, if Carly couldn't get me to come out of here, and I mean no offense by this, but what makes you think that I'm gonna come out if you ask?"

"I've got beef jerky…"

Damn him, he knows me too well. But he's probably bluffing. I know he is. They just want me out of the bathroom. No way am I falling for that old trick. Nooo way.

"Spencer, seriously, don't kid around like that."

"Actually, I'm not. I'm literally holding it in my hand right now, waving it around, wondering if I should eat it all by myself or save some for you later on."

Gah, why do they always torture me with my love for meat products!? It's not fair, not fair at all! Now I'm torn between keeping myself locked up in here or running out and grabbing that poor bag of beef jerky out of Spencer's hands and having it all for myself. What to do, what to do…

"Spencer, you better give me that beef jerky!"

My love for the stuff has taken over my shame of showing myself in front of Carly and Spencer, as I'm now throwing the bathroom door open and racing down the hall, where I heard Spencer's footsteps mere moments ago. But the second I reached the living room, I was instantly regretting it, much like I had been regretting a lot of stuff over the past few months. There stood Spencer, that big, goofy smile on his face, holding his camera, while Carly stood next to him, hands clasped together as she grinned, looking all pretty and girly in her prom dress. The next thing I know, my eyes are fuzzy and Spencer's laughing, holding his camera in front of Carly so she can see the stupefied look on my face. But naturally, when I regain the use of my eyes, my first question isn't to ask why they tricked me again, but…

"Where's the beef jerky!?"

That's me, Sam Puckett; classy as ever.

"See Sam! I told you that you'd look fine! In fact, you look better than fine, you look hot!"

"Carly…"

"No seriously Sam, take away that funny face you made when Spence took this picture, and just look at yourself!"

She thrusts the camera in front of my face, almost forcing me to look at myself. I don't want to, but if it gets her to be quiet about it and if it's what she wants, then I guess there's no harm in seeing how ridiculously horrible I—WOW.

"And you said you looked horrible."

Oh my god, that can't be me in that picture. Well, it clearly is me, but…it doesn't look like me. I look like…a blond headed Carly. Like, I look good. Really good. Better than I ever have in my entire life. She really _is_ a little miracle worker, because there's no way that I'd look like this without her help. I mean…just wow. That's all I can really say about how I look, is wow. This sounds vain and conceited, but I never realized how…beautiful I can look if I just take the time to do so. I should ask Carly to teach me how to do this all…all I can do is apply lip gloss, a little eyeliner and like, a tiny bit of mascara…yeah, I've never been one for all that stuff. But holy chizz, maybe Carly's right…maybe we will knock all the boys dead tonight and make all the other girls jealous. Well, the second part isn't really our intention, but there are a few mutts that I wanna shove this in the face of. They said that I couldn't wear a dress without it running away in fear…well this'll show them. And maybe, just maybe…oh, why do I even care, he thinks I don't even exist anymore…I just wish he could know that, while I'm doing this for Carly and myself…I'm mostly doing this all for him.

"I…I don't know what to say…"

"Do you want me to leave you two alone?"

"No Spence, it's alright, you can stay. We're not gonna talk about girly stuff."

"Whew…thanks for that."

I look up at Spencer and give him a smile, doing the same for Carly, before waving them both over to me. When they get within reach, I pull them both into a big, warm embrace…and it feels so good. **This** is my family. Mom would never do what these two have done for me…she's never done much for me as it is. If it weren't for the fact that I've got all this make up on that Carly did for me, I'd shed a tear or two…but I'll resist the urge to do so. I can't break down now, not when the night is still incredibly young and we haven't even gotten to the prom yet. Gosh, if it's this bad for junior prom, I don't want to even imagine how bad it'll be next year when we're seniors…geesh. No need to think about that though, because no guarantee that I'll survive tonight and even want to go to the 'glorious' senior prom next year.

"It's alright, Sam. We'll always be here for you."

In my daze, I forgot that the three of us were still holding onto each other. Lifting my head to face the two of them, I see the genuine smiles on their faces and I feel at ease. Maybe tonight won't be as bad as I've made it out to be in my head. Who knows? It could be the best night of my life. But then…as I turn my head to glance in the direction of the front door, looking past it and imagining that it was the door two inches across the hall, I think to myself that it'd be so much better if Freddie was here with the three of us. It really does feel incomplete without the little dork around. I'd love to be able to be on his arm and be his date, but that won't be happening tonight, and it probably won't ever happen, not after that April morning. The look on his face just about broke my heart, and it's still trying to glue itself back together.

How could I have been so stupid to let him get away? Better yet, why did it take me so long to realize that he was the only boy for me? I can't believe that I was so thick headed in that regard, I really can't. He's always been there for me, even when he didn't need to be nor had no right to be, and while I didn't show my appreciation on the outside, on the inside, it meant more to me than anything in the world. It showed me that even though I may have beaten him up in every imaginable way, insulted him more than anyone ever would for the rest of his life, and degraded his name more times than I can even imagine…that he cared about me. He shouldn't have to, though. All of the stuff I've put him through is pretty bad. I've blamed him for shit I did because I could, and I can't believe he never once tried to do the same. I've been so bad to him, I can't imagine ever deserving someone as understanding and sweet as him. Hah, look at me, using words like 'sweet' to describe him. I guess that shows how much he really means to me, when I can't even bring myself to call him Fredpuss or a dork or a dishrag…

"Ooh, you need to get going, little girly!"

"Huh? What? I thought we were going together, Carls?"

She shakes her head at me and grins, leaning over to whisper something in my ear, and all I can feel are my eyes growing wide and my jaw drop to the floor. She pulls away and begins to fiercely send someone a text message before tucking her phone back into her purse. Did Carly really just say what I think she said?

"No way you got a limo just for me."

"Yes way, Sam. Now stop staring at me like that, grab your coat and purse and get going! I'll meet you in the front of the building, I promise. Go!"

And so my night begins. Carly starts shoving me in the direction of the elevator, making sure to grab everything that I'll need for tonight for me. Where as a few minutes ago, I was listless and down in the dumps…I'm smiling brightly now. Who knows.

Maybe tonight will be the best night of my life. With or without Freddie. Preferably with.

* * *

We're here. Carly and I just arrived thanks to Spencer giving us a lift there, and so far, there's been no sign of Sam anywhere, which I'm not quite sure how I feel about. I feel like I should seek her out and get her alone, just so I could spill my guts out and apologize for everything…even though she has her fair share of apologizing to do as well. But I also feel like I should just leave her alone and continue the slow burn of cutting her out of my life completely. I've not seen her or her blond mane once since that April morning, haven't heard her voice since then either…I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss her. But I've gone this long without talking to her or even looking at her in person, so I figure that I must be doing something right, even if it's the wrong thing to do.

"So, what do you think, Freddie? Like what me and the rest of the girls on the committee did to the place?"

I take in the scenery here at the school, inside the enormous gym where the dance is taking place, and I'm in awe. It looks and feels like I'm stepping into an underwater world, like you see in comics or movies. Everywhere, there's stuff that looks like the ocean came to us and made it's home right here in the middle of the gym. I look to my side and catch Carly's grinning face. She and the rest of the girls must have put their entire lives into this, and it obviously shows. I feel speechless, and so I probably should. This doesn't even look like our gym. It looks…breathtaking.

"You girls did this all by yourselves?"

"Yup, we sure did. It was a pain in the neck getting stuff up there in the rafters and a few other places, but we pulled through and this is the end product. Pretty impressive for a bunch of sixteen and seventeen year old girls, huh?"

"I'll say. You did a great job, Carly. Couldn't be more proud of you for all this hard work."

"Thank you, Freddie. Now go on, sit down at our table, I'll be over in a little bit, I need to uh…I need to go do something real quick."

"What do you need to do that's so important?"

"Um…prom committee stuff. Girly stuff, you know, you wouldn't be interested, gotta go now, bye!"

Carly gives me a quick wave and then runs off in the other direction, towards who or what, I wish I knew, but I'd rather not know, to be honest. I can see our table out in the distance; it's at the forefront, right near the dance floor. It's probably like that because Carly's on the committee and all. Gotta give the girls that did all this work the best tables in the house, I suppose. Sitting down, I notice something weird about it. There are always four people to a table at these things, but something's off. There's my seat, Carly's seat, Gibby's seat…and the last one doesn't have a little nameplate that says who the fourth person is. Hmm. That's really odd. Maybe it's someone we know and she somehow forgot to add their name to our table? That seems feasible. Maybe Carly did manage to find a date at the last minute and wanted to keep it a surprise? That's probably what it is, it wouldn't surprise me. She was secretive about Griffin; I wouldn't really put it past her to be secretive about this new boyfriend, if she even has one. Who could it be?

"Hey man, how's it going?"

I turn around and there's Gibby, looking surprisingly out of his element without his shirt off for once, but it's the junior prom, and I'm pretty sure that there's a rule somewhere that says you can't go to it without wearing a tuxedo. Or at least a shirt of some kind.

"Hey Gibby, I'm good, how're you doing? By the way, did anyone mention how weird you look with a tux on?"

"Yeah, I've been getting that all night, but I kinda like it, you know? Makes me think that maybe I should wear a tuxedo every day instead of going shirtless. What do you think?"

"Don't bother. Spencer tried that for a while and it got him nowhere."

"He did?"

"It's Spencer…would I make something like that up if it involves him?"

Gibby shakes his head and then sits down at the table. We talk for a while, mainly comment on all the girls who look nice in their prom dresses and, well, you know, typical teenage boy banter. 'Why's that girl with that guy?', or 'Who picked the music?', stuff like that. We continued on like that for a few minutes until Gibby just stopped and stared straight ahead, behind me, at something or someone. Like, his jaw dropped and his eyes were wider than any normal human's eyes should be.

"What're you staring at, Gibby?"

"Turn around and look for yourself."

Taking his advice, I turn around in my seat and look for whatever it is that has Gibby acting like he's seen a ghost or a naked woman, but all I see is the stage getting set up for the secret musical act, a large crowd of people and, beyond the crowd, Carly speaking to a blond haired girl who's got her back turned to us. Is that what Gibby's gotten himself all whipped up about? Some girl who's face he can't even see? That's crazy, even for him.

"Dude, I don't know what you're making such a big deal about, all I see is the stage and Carly talking to some girl with her back turned to us. You're getting yourself all out of whack over nothing, man."

"No, I'm not. Turn around again and you'll see why."

Rolling my eyes and sighing loudly, I fix Gibby with a look of mild irritation before I turn around once again and…

**Oh. My. God.**

* * *

That limo ride was so awesome! I can't believe that Carly would do that just for me…I swear, that girl is a freaking angel in disguise. I'm so lucky to have her as my best friend, oh so lucky. The ride was even better than the time that loser from that no-name TV company came and wanted to turn iCarly into a TV show! Like seriously, I owe that girl the biggest debt of gratitude ever. She gives me the money to buy this dress, she does all my makeup and my hair, she helps me pick out a corsage and heels…she's helped me so damn much over the past two months, I swear, I'm going to pay her back in so many ways, even though she doesn't want to be, but she will be!

In the meantime, I've been standing here, in the corner near the back doors of the gym for the past fifteen minutes, anxiously awaiting the arrival of my bestest friend ever so we can go over what our game plan is for tonight. I've kept myself occupied by looking around at all the dorks in their penguin suits trying to act like they're all that, making a few comments here and there. The best thing is that when they try to insult me back, they stop short and just stare, while I proudly display the work Carly's done on me and shove it right back in their faces. And some of these girls here? Don't get me started on how awful some of them look. That little mutt Tricia looks like someone puked on her, and Rebecca Berkowitz is wearing, quite possibly, the ugliest looking dress I've ever seen on a man or a woman. Ever. I had to stop myself from continuing because I began to feel like one of those gossip girls, and god to I hate them. But after that, I took to admiring the decorum and the atmosphere of the room. Gotta say, I could get used to this kind of thing. I know, that's not like me at all, considering I wanted nothing to do with this the minute Carly opened her mouth and told me she was on the committee, but truth be told, it isn't nearly as bad as I envisioned it to be. And Carly did an awesome job in helping make the gym look like this. I feel like I'm walking on water just by looking at everything. And speak of the devil, here she is right now.

"Hey Sam, glad you're still here. Sorry I took so long arriving, I uh…had some business to take care of first, hope you don't mind."

"Carls, after all you've done for me lately, it's no big deal at all. You know I'm going to have to pay you back for everything, right?"

"Sam, what did I tell you about that? You don't have to and I simply won't let you, either. I'm just doing for you what you would do for me if the situation ever arose."

I don't even say anything; I just reach out and hug her. I could care less right now if I crumple our dresses, I just needed to get that out of the way, just so I could show her just how much I really appreciate everything that she's done lately, and hell, everything she's **ever** done for me. I'm glad I've never taken Carly for granted or done anything to make her seriously hate me. I don't know what I'd do without this girl in my life.

"I know you are, Carls, and you don't understand how much I appreciate it all. You're the best friend a girl could ever ask for or possibly want."

"Aw, you really mean that, Sam?"

"A duh. It's that and, well, you make Spencer buy that awesome ham from the super market, so of course I mean it."

We both share a laugh as the conversation zigzags it's way towards my infinite love of meat products. Ohh ham, how this prom would be so much better if I was allowed to take some of you in my purse and eat you instead of the lame stuff they're going to give us later on. But you know, beggars can't be choosers, and I'll just eat whatever they throw in front of me.

"So what do you think of the job we did, Sam? And please, try to be nice about it. I know that seeing something as fairy tale-ish and girly as this brings out your vicious side."

If this was any other time, you bet I'd be ripping on the decorum of this place, even if Carly did have a hand in making it this way. But tonight…and this is a total rarity…I'm gonna hold my tongue and not make any negative remarks. She worked really hard on all of this, and she deserves praise for it. And besides, I'd feel like a jerk if I badmouthed the way the gym looks, because this night is special to her and I, and well, I want to make it as memorable for her as she's already made it for me.

"It's pretty cool, Carls. Looks like you really put your back into it. I'm happy for you that it came out as good as it did."

"You really think so, Sam? You don't want to comment on how the shade of blue for the curtains and stuff looks like toilet water? You don't want to make fun of the music being played? The table decorations? Everything else?"

"Nope. Consider tonight a reprieve from Mama's jokes and insults. I don't want to sour the mood, not after what you've done for me and done here."

She wraps her arms around me and giggles, the two of us touching heads as we soak in the atmosphere. Everyone looks so…different. Even those who look like slobs and hobo's have changed themselves for the night. Hell, the teachers look halfway decent. I'm impressed, to be honest. But alas, as me and Carls look out at the massive crowd of kids, I don't see Freddie. Sure, there are plenty of brown haired dorks that attend Ridgeway, but none of them are our dork.

"Hey Carly…I've got a question. Take it for what it's worth."

"What's up, Sam?"

"Have you seen--"

_Oh. My. God._

**She looks amazing.**

_He looks handsome._

**I can't stop staring at her.**

_My eyes are fixed on him._

**That dress is so beautiful.**

_The tuxedo fits him quite nicely._

**Her hair looks even prettier than usual.**

_His hair doesn't look nubbish for once._

**I can't stop staring at her.**

_I can't stop staring at him._

**It's been nearly three months since I've laid eyes on Sam…and Christ almighty, I have to ask myself; How did I go that long without even making eye contact with her!? I can't believe how damn gorgeous she looks. I never thought I'd ever say this about Sam Puckett, but she looks like an angel in that dress. No wonder Gibby looked so amazed.**

**How have I managed to live without her?**

_Looking at him has really made me regret that April morning more than I'll ever regret anything. He doesn't even look like a teenager…he looks all grown up and, dare I say…hot in that get up. I've missed Freddie so much, and it hurts looking at him, because I know that he can't be mine. But at the very least, it's nice to see his face again._

_Why was I so stupid to let him slip away?_

* * *

As I'm staring at Sam, a noise is heard coming from the stage. Finally shifting my eyes away from her, I look in the direction of the sound, as Principal Franklin makes his way to the microphone, while everyone in the whole room having grown silent so that he could be heard loud and clear. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Carly turn around and smile at me, waving her hand frantically. I don't know if she's waving to say hi or waving for me to go over there. Ah, now she's motioning with her head, she defiantly wants me to go over there…but I won't. I can't. I just…I can't be around Sam. I'll say something I'll regret…and then the bridge will have been completely and fully burned. I can't risk that.

"Hello everyone, who's having a great time tonight!"

The crowd roars while Carly rolls her eyes and turns back around to join in on the cheering while Principal Franklin smiles and nods his head. After a few more seconds of prolonged cheering, he silences them and continues to deliver his message, whatever it may be.

"Alright, now that we've gotten that out of the way, who's ready for the big secret musical act!"

Again, the kids all begin to cheer loudly, louder than a few seconds ago to the point where I thought I heard the floor tremble a little bit. Carly turns her head slightly and again motions for me to go over there, but I shake my head in refusal. She doesn't get it; I can't be over there, next to Sam. I just…can't. I want to be next to her so bad, but I just can't.

"Alrighty then, sounds like you guys are pumped! Now, many of you kids, I'm sure, have been wondering just who the secret act is. Well, I can honestly say that when they were approached to do this by our wonderful junior prom committee, headed by Carly Shay, they jumped at the chance and were more than elated to be able to make this night as magical and memorable for you all. So now, without further adieu, the junior prom committee and I give to you, the students of Ridgeway High…the Plain White T's!"

For the second time tonight, my jaw drops at the revelation of the announcement. The entire place is going, pardon my language, apeshit. It's literally rocking; I think the building moved an inch or two, it's so insane in here right now. Through the mish mosh of people, I can barely make out Carly and Sam, though it'd be hard not to miss them in those coral and snow white dresses. They're going crazy as well, as am I, now that I've regained the use of my hands for clapping purposes, but deep down, I've got the feeling that this is all part of some scheme. Right now though, I'm just going to enjoy the moment and let them do their thing.

"Hello Ridgeway! How's everyone doing tonight!?"

They're on the stage and trying not to get mobbed by all the girls in the audience, the crowd is still cheering, and Gibby's gone and ruined his tuxedo by ripping it off and going shirtless once again. Man, these guys are HUGE!

"That's great, good to know! Alright now, usually we start off our set with 'Gimme A Chance', but we're going to shake it up a little bit tonight. When Carly here came to us and told us about a little problem that some of her friends were going through, we asked if there was any way we could help her and her friends out. Well, we hope this does the trick, Carly. This song is dedicated to her two friends, Sam and Freddie, and it goes a little something like this!"

My eyes grow wide as I stand up out of my seat. My jaw's dropped yet again, and suddenly, there's a giant spotlight shining on my face, as well as Sam. All eyes are on us as the drums start, quickly followed by the bass and lead guitar. I can see Carly smiling like a hyena out of the corner of my eye, while Sam's look mirrors mine, except she's blushing profusely. I knew that this was a set up of some kind. I knew it! I didn't know that Carly had it in her…but…just wow. The sea of kids have parted and opened up a path for me which, not so coincidentally, leads right to Sam. Carly's going to hear it from the both of us if we ever get the chance.

_"If you could come clean about everything,_

_it would be easy for me to be sorry._

_If you could see all the possibilities,_

_we might not be still standing where we started._

_Oh, no._

_Don't let me go for this,_

_don't let me go for this._

_I might be a fool, but you might be one too._

_Maybe we're all that we needed._

_Two wrongs don't make a right,_

_but I don't care tonight._

_Maybe we're all that we needed."_

I haven't moved an inch since standing up from my seat, because the words of the song are too busy resonating throughout my head. Sam's got a far away look in her eyes, presumably because the words are running through her mind as well. But then something funny happened; I began to move in her direction. But I wasn't the one moving myself. No, Gibby and a few other kids got behind me and slowly started to nudge me in Sam's direction, and from what I saw, Carly and a few kids were doing the same to her. This can't be happening…it's all so surreal. Wait…I'm getting pushed near Sam! Oh crap, what the hell am I gonna say!? Not good, not good, not good!!!

_"You could say that we were just a big mistake._

_I think it's worth making,_

_worth repeating._

_I would say good things come to those who wait._

_I would say anything if you'd believe it._

_Oh, no._

_Don't let me go for this,_

_don't let me go for this._

_I might be a fool, but you might be one too._

_Maybe we're all that we needed._

_Two wrongs don't make a right,_

_but I don't care tonight._

_Maybe we're all that we needed."_

They can't be doing this, they can't! They don't know what's happened between the two of us, and Carly…oh boy, she's going to **get it** from me when I get the chance! I can't believe she went through all this trouble just so she could push me and Sam back together when we're clearly not destined to be anything anymore! I don't even know if I can consider her a friend anymore, not after what I saw that April morning. But I can't fight back against the current pushing me towards her. There's too many of them and I don't want to be _that guy_. But what the hell am I gonna say!?!?

_"Maybe we're perfectly not meant to be,_

_Or more alike than we're willing to see._

_Maybe we're not meant to disagree._

_Maybe we're crazy, baby._

_If you could come clean about everything,_

_it would be easy for me to be sorry._

_If you could see all the possibilities,_

_we might not still be standing where we started._

_Oh, no._

_Don't let me go for this._

_Don't let me go for this!_

_I might be a fool, you might be one too._

_Maybe we're all that we needed._

_Two wrongs don't make a right,_

_I don't care tonight._

_Maybe we're all that we needed!"_

We're mere feet away from each other, and her face has gone a ghostly shade of white. It's like she's terrified to be so close to me, and I can't really blame her, but then again, I can. But I won't. A million things are going through my head right now. What do I say to her is chief amongst them, but also…do I forgive her? Do I even say anything? Do I, dare I think, kiss her? I don't even know. Carly's still grinning madly, and everyone is cheering for us as Tom Higgenson looks in our direction and claps his hands, smiling at us as he continues to work the crowd.

I can't believe this.

_"I don't care tonight._

_Maybe we're all that we needed._

_I don't care tonight._

_Maybe we're all that we needed."_

I'm now standing in front of Sam Puckett for the first time in nearly three months, the longest three months of my life. Her lips are quivering and my knees are shaking. The entire junior class is cheering and clapping their hands maniacally, for the Plain White T's and for the two of us. Carly's still smiling, obviously happy that her plan has gotten this far. They're expecting the big, happy ending. I don't know if we can give them that though. After letting the silence kill me for a few more seconds, I clear my throat, and despite my nerves, I find the word I want to say to her.

"Sam…"

But just like that, she breaks away and runs for the nearest exit. The crowd, which mere seconds ago was as loud as it could have possibly been, has now quieted to the point where you could hear a pin drop. Carly's face is written with confusion and hurt. Even the Plain White T's have stopped what they were doing and are staring in shock. Now, all eyes are on me. I look to Carly; it's the only thing I can think to do right now. I ask her a question.

"What do I do?"

She thinks long and hard about it. Then she steps forward, puts one hand on my shoulder and takes my hand with the other. She gives me a half hug before motioning with her head towards the door that Sam just ran through.

"Chase after her, Freddie. Chase after her."

I let the words settle for a moment. I look at the door, then to Carly's face, which has now replaced the confusion with worry for Sam. I nod my head and then set out to do what I should have done nearly three months ago.

I chased after Sam.

* * *

**And that's all she wrote for this chapter! One more chapter to go and Truth & Consquences will finally be done...what a ride it's been. Reviews are appreciated....after I do my one shots based off of iQuit iCarly, I begin writing the final chapter. Hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter, take care everyone. See ya later!**


	14. More than meets the eye

**And here it is...the final chapter of Truth & Consequences. *tear* :( It's been a hell of a ride, everyone. I'm so incredibly thankful to everyone who's read this and reviewed it, the like. You're all the best. And without further adieu, here's the final chapter. It's chock full of Seddie goodness. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Tears were running down my face like waterfalls. I can't believe I just ran out on him like that, before he could even finish saying my name, let alone anything else. I've never felt so embarrassed in my entire life. The look on all of my classmates' faces are enough to haunt me for a while now; all of them staring at me, wondering whether to feel sympathetic or horrified, or even amused at my breaking point. All of that hard work by Carly…flushed down the toilet because of my insecurities and fears. I don't even want to know what Freddie's face looked like, because he's probably just about had it with me. Can't say I blame him though…the entire time I've known him, it's just been one brutal insult or one vicious knockdown after another. This was probably the final straw for him, and if I never speak to or see him again…I'll have deserved it.

I've been sitting out here on the bleachers for the past half hour, the only thing keeping me company are my sobs and the full moon, which looks so lonely without any stars in the sky surrounding it…I can relate to the loneliness. It's a terrible thing to go through, but I've been dealing with it ever since I could talk. Daddy left home when I was five…Melanie got a scholarship at a private boarding school…and Mom…she hasn't been the same since Daddy left, even though it was all her fault…it's been a recurring theme in my life, the loneliness. No Freddie would just be another notch on a belt I have no desire to wear.

For a Seattle night in June, I feel cold. Maybe it's just me and the humiliation I'm feeling, but my skin is chilled and I don't feel like moving much. The world is blurry to me, my lips have been forever trembling with fear and hurt, and all that hard work Carly did in making me look pretty has gone to waste, much like her whole plan in general. My hair looks like it's just been through a tornado; the mascara has streaked down my face and left marks; lipstick is smeared all over the back of my hands; and I'm pretty sure that the dress, the very same dress that I _killed_ to have, the very same dress that Carly gave me the money for to buy, is wrecked and ruined beyond repair. But I shouldn't be shocked, despite the tears and the empty feeling. After all, whether I want to or not, whenever there's something pretty…I _always_ end up destroying it.

It hurt to take a breath. Pains rose from my chest, and despite my best efforts to ignore them, they weren't going away anytime soon. And it wasn't any normal, run-of-the-mill chest pain…it was my heart aching, screaming, and bleeding to feel the touch of the only boy that will ever understand me. I'm such a mess right now, I'm surprised that I managed to find my way here, to relative safety, and not the streets or anything like that. I just wish tonight would end already…I'd love nothing more than to wake up and realize that this was all just a terrible nightmare. But the tears are still stinging my eyes, and I know that this is as real as it gets. I just wish Freddie was here right now, so I could tell him how incredibly sorry I am for ruining his life and leading him on like I have. At least I'd have that burden off my chest before he walked out of my life for the final time. Saying sorry won't change anything though. He'll still hate my guts and I'll still have this hole in my heart…I guess some things never really do change. I should know.

"Sam! Where are you!?"

I could faintly hear a voice out in the distance. Maybe it's a ghost or my imagination that's calling out to me. Whoever it is, I hope they don't find me, because I don't want to be found. I look and feel worse than Ms. Briggs does on her 'best' days. I just wanna be left alone…

"Sam! Are you up here?"

The voice was getting closer and it sounded familiar. My mind was telling me to run and get as far away as possible, but my body and soul had taken too much of a pounding to go anywhere. I was drained emotionally, I was exhausted, embarrassed, scared and humiliated beyond belief. I knew that I wasn't going anywhere. So I closed my eyes and waited, hoped for the moment that the voice went away, so that I could go back to my self loathing and heartbreak underneath the pale moon.

"What are you doing up here all by yourself?"

My eyes snapped open to find Freddie standing a few feet in front of me, making his way up the bleachers to my seated position. He's got his jacket in his hand and extends it out to me, expecting me to take it, but I shirk his hand away and inch back in my seat. Sobs were threatening to escape my throat again, but I quelled them as fast as I could.

"What's it to you?"

Freddie reached forward, forcefully grabbed my hands and pulled me up to my feet. Since when did he get strong enough to do that to me? We were now inches apart, so close to the point where I felt like I was staring deep into his soul through his eyes. I stole a quick glimpse at his lips, and my mind rushed back to our kiss on the fire escape…the real reason why we're both here right now. It had started with a simple little kiss…

"Sam, don't be difficult. You shouldn't be out here right now."

I couldn't bring myself to stare at him in the eye, not after the pain I've caused him these past few months. They're currently fixed on the cold metal of the bleachers and my feet, which are dying in these heels.

"Just…just go away. L-leave me alone…please."

Freddie's grip on my wrists got tighter, and for the briefest of moments, I thought he was going to break them. But this is Freddie I'm talking about; he couldn't break a bone if his life depended on it.

"I'm not leaving you here by yourself. Let me explain everything", he whispered, though what he had to explain puzzled me. What could he possibly explain that my actions didn't already do for him? I felt tears begin to sting my eyes again, and before I knew it or could blink them away, they fell. I must look so pathetic to him right now.

"Y-you've got nothing to explain, Freddie", I whispered back. "It's fine…j-just leave me be…I can't do this…"

Freddie released his grip on my wrists and then firmly grabbed me by the shoulders, trying to get me to look him in the eyes, but I wouldn't allow myself to do so. It'd break my heart into even tinier pieces than they were already in. He shook me slightly, but I still wouldn't look at him. The humiliation was too much to bear.

"Just go home or back to the dance! Please!", I shouted.

This feels like some kind of sick torture, one that's reserved for someone you really hate. Well, we "hate" each other…so maybe he is trying to torture me, make me feel like the biggest bitch in all of Seattle…

"No can do", he stated with conviction. "I'm not leaving you to cry your heart out and be lonely like this."

I tried to push him away and make a break for it, but his hands wouldn't budge off my shoulders. I hit him weakly a few times, but it didn't faze him. His grip was even tighter on my shoulders than it was my wrists, and it made me feel uncomfortable…but he had every right to make me feel this way. I deserve it. I made one last feeble attempt at a getaway, but he stopped me before I could even move my feet. His hands moved from my shoulder to my face, cupping both of my cheeks in his hands and all but forcing me to look him in the eye. I tried to look elsewhere, but every time I did, my eyes were redirected to his. It pained me so much, to look into those eyes and see the world of hurt and emotional instability I had caused him…

"Would you please just listen to what I have to say, Sam!? I hate seeing you like this, you've suffered enough, just let me…"

"Listen to **WHAT**!?", I yelled, causing him to flinch. "What can you possibly explain to me that hasn't already been done so!?"

He kept my cheeks cupped in his hands, and I swear on a twelve pack of Peppy Cola, I thought he was going to kiss me right then and there. But he didn't; instead, he shook his head, looking distraught. He sighed heavily as he searched for the right words to say in this moment. What could he say, though?

"I just…I hate how things have become between us", he said, confusing me as the sobs momentarily stopped. "I mean…we went nearly three months without speaking to each other, or even seeing each other. Do you realize how many times I fought the urge to just walk over to Carly's and see you? Do you realize how hard that was for me, after what I saw at your locker that day?"

I can't say anything because my throat has dried up and my lungs have seemingly stopped as well. The pain and the hurt is evident on his face again; tears stream down my eyes and onto my cheeks again, staining his fingers which are still holding my head in it's place. I closed my eyes and bit my lip hard enough to the point where I thought I was going to draw blood. If only I could speak right now…he'd know the truth and he'd get the answers he deserves…

"I wanted to call you, I wanted to text you…I just wanted to hear your voice, but my stupid pride got in the way of it. I just…I just want everything to be alright between us again…"

His hands fall from my face back down to his sides, before he shoves them in his pockets. I can tell that it took a lot for him to say that, and I can only imagine how hurt he must be right now. I want the same exact thing he wants…except I want more than just that though. I want to be able to tell him how much I love him. I want to feel the jolt of electricity I get whenever his fingers brush against my skin. I want him to hold me and tell me he loves me back. I want him, and only him…it's all I've wanted ever since that god damn kiss on that god damn fire escape.

He went to say more but I held my hand up, effectively cutting him off. I needed to get everything off my chest and out into the open and let him see just how much this whole ordeal has hurt me too. "Freddie…if you want to know the truth, then please…j-just listen to m-me."

I took a deep breath and proceeded to spill my guts out to him. "First off, I k-know I said it before, but I'll s-say it again; I'm sorry that I humiliated you the way I did when I told the whole world that you hadn't k-kissed a girl. B-but I'm not sorry for us kissing. When we did that, we promised to go back to hating each other and to never speak of it again. Well…I didn't go back to hating you and I didn't forget it. Guess I'm n-not very good at keeping p-promises."

"It was so weird for me to see you acting so kind towards me for a change, and compound that with the kiss, and I ended up…well…"

I cringed at saying the words under these circumstances, but they needed to be said. "I fell in love with you. And as crazy as it sounds, I thought that, maybe, somehow…"

"Somehow I had fallen in love with you too", Freddie spoke softly as I solemnly nodded my head. I so wanted to let loose a cry that would echo through the night air so bad, but I bit down on my lip and prevented that from happening. I couldn't afford to lose my composure now, not until after I was done spilling my guts out to Freddie.

"Ever since the kiss, whenever I made fun of you, it didn't feel as good as it used to…in fact, it didn't feel good at all. It sucked, and I felt terrible for doing so. But that was just our nature, and I didn't know how you'd react to me being nice to you all the time…so I continued with the act, kept the façade up…I tried telling myself that it would pass. But it never did…"

I took a moment to wipe a stray tear away and lazily fix my messed up hair. He was looking at me intently, hanging on my every word, waiting to hear everything that I had to say. This was going to be harder than I thought. "You were being so nice to me and you were so understanding…I thought you were dropping little hints here and there, and for a bit, I thought you actually **did** fall in love with me…so I did what I always do…"

"You panicked", he said quietly, effectively finishing the sentence for me. I felt so ashamed, I didn't even nod my head in agreement or look him in the eye; I just kept mine fixed on the ground, hoping he wouldn't make me look at him again.

"I managed to convince myself that you were playing a joke on me…I thought you were trying to get payback for all the horrible, mean things I've done to you over the years…Carly thought she had it all figured out…so I decided that the best course of action would be to lie about my feelings for you to her. So I told her that I liked that little douche Reuben…I just hadn't planned on you hearing it."

He cleared his throat to say something, but he was met with my hand stopping him short yet again. "Before you say anything, Reuben had been kinda hitting on me at that point. He would meet me at my locker, or pass me notes in class, stupid stuff like that. I ignored him though, because I was too pre-occupied with trying to win you over…"

"Explain it then", he said quickly, almost coldly. I didn't need to ask what he was talking about, but I arched my eyebrow in confusion anyway. "Explain what I saw that April morning. Tell me why you were kissing him."

The fear and humiliation quickly rose in my chest again, and my face, which had been doused by my tears and streaked mascara, turned a deep shade of red. My eyes were shut tightly and my lips were zipped; I couldn't bring myself to re-live that moment again, but Freddie deserved to know the truth behind it. But suffering through those consequences once was bad enough; having to tell him to his face was like I was slowly starting to die on the inside.

"It wasn't what you think it is…I can explain everything." I searched for the right words to say, but nothing made sense. So I just decided that I'd shoot from the heart again. "When Carly told me that you wanted to speak to me about what you heard, basically about everything…I grew excited. Like, more excited than when we went to Japan or when I ate my first Fat Cake. I was so ready to tell you everything, how I felt about you, how I was only said that I liked Reuben because I panicked, and all that stuff. Carly was supposed to stay and watch over things, but she got called away for a prom committee meeting, so it was just up to me to spill the beans."

He stares at me, his chocolate brown orbs piercing through my skin and digging deep into my soul. I can feel what little resolve I had left melting away under his intense stare, but I soldier on. I need to if I want to keep any semblance of my sanity.

"I was waiting for you to arrive…t-then Reuben showed u-up…he was flirting, hitting o-on me…I was so wishing for Carly to come back or for you to s-show up so that he'd go away…I was so close to j-just decking him…but b-before I could, he kissed me…it was an ambush…I didn't know how to r-react…and that's what you saw."

Fresh tears slowly begin to trickle down from my eyelids onto my cheeks, I'm shaking, and I can't even imagine how much Freddie must hate me right now. I need to end this fast before I lose all control and become the biggest teenage mess that Seattle's ever seen.

"I wanted t-to tell you that I didn't want a-any part of it…but I was so scared that you'd legitimately hate me and cross m-me out of your life for good…t-there were so many times w-where I wanted to call or text you…or even m-meet you on the fire escape…but I just kept imagining y-you screaming at me and t-telling me to get out of your life…I knew that I wouldn't of b-been able to handle that…so I n-never reached out to you…a-and for that, I c-can't say that I'm sorry enough…", I whispered as I stole a look at his face and felt my insides twist up into painful knots and my knees become incredibly weak. He looked mad, almost disgusted…at least, that's what I _think_ it was. His face was unreadable from what I saw for the two seconds I glanced.

"W-well…that's all I needed to say…I'm s-sorry, Freddie…thank you for listening. It was really nice knowing you…have fun back at the prom", I murmured as I began to walk past him, down the bleacher steps to a destination unknown. But then I felt his hand grip my arm, keeping me in place.

"I'm not letting you leave my sight. I won't let you run away", Freddie said without reserve. My body stiffened at this. Maybe he was really as smart as he said he was.

"Who says I'm running away?"

"I know you better than you think, Sam. I saw that look in your eyes and on your face. You want to forget about everything. You want to pretend that your best friend didn't just go to the biggest, greatest lengths in the world to make you happy. You want to pretend that the Plain White T's didn't just perform a song that describes our…whatever it is we have here. So you think that by running away, everything will dissolve and eventually go back to normal."

"Maybe I do want to forget it all", I whispered. "Maybe I do want to make it all go away."

"Then stay here with me", he said. "Let me help you."

I groaned inwardly at his kindness. It was almost degrading in a sense. "Stop that. Why do you always say these kind things to me like you--"

"Like I'm in love with you too?" He stepped forward and tucked some loose tendrils of my hair behind my ears. What he said next made my stomach do flip flops.

"I didn't forget about the fire escape either, Sam."

I resisted the urge to make a sarcastic comment out loud, but to myself, I was saying that he could have easily fooled me.

"What?", I stuttered as Freddie gave me that smile of his; the same one that makes me want to melt like an M & M does in someone's mouth. "But you--"

"You thought that I had completely forgotten about it. I could **never** forget about that fire escape. It's been the only constant thing on my mind since it happened."

"Why--"

"Why didn't I say anything about it? Because I thought _you_ had forgotten about it. I thought _you_ had moved on from it. It didn't help when I saw Reuben trying to play tonsil hockey with you…but I never, ever forgot about the fire escape, even after I saw that."

This had to be a joke. Or a dream. Yeah, that's it; I was dreaming. I'm asleep on Carly's couch after watching an all night marathon of Girly Cow. There was no way Freddie was really saying all of this.

"When I heard you admit your 'feelings' for Reuben, I knew that I had made the wrong decision, at the time, to not forget our kiss. I had been building up the courage to tell you how I felt for a while, but when I heard you say that, I was crushed; I thought you were messing with my emotions again, like you have countless times before. Then any hope I had was kinda killed when I saw Reuben kissing you…"

The words stung worse than anything else he's ever said to me. I felt the sudden urge to run again, but I kept the feeling in check and remained in place. I had to wonder to myself though; how could he stand being so close to me? After all I've done to him?

"I thought you'd never like me back. I mean, I wouldn't have blamed you. My mom's a bit of a loon. I'm a complete nerd. And I was basically the unrequited love slave of our best friend…well, not anymore, but you get what I'm saying. There were plenty of reasons for me to think that you'd never like me back, and when all of that chizz went down…well, that pretty much confirmed it. I wanted so desperately to forget the fire escape…but, I don't know, I just…couldn't. It was like I felt sparks when we kissed, and my mind wouldn't let me let it go."

I shook my head in disbelief, repressing a few sobs and wiping away a stray tear here and there. Freddie gave me a half smile, his hands shoved deep into his pockets as the moon shined brightly on the two of us, acting like a spotlight and the bleachers were our own personal stage. Nothing was adding up. I was confused as hell, and he could tell.

"You look like you don't believe me."

"No, I don't", I said softly, my breath beginning to even out with the absence of the sobs. "You're supposed to--"

"Hate you and be your sworn enemy for real right now, I know. But hearing that you didn't forget about the kiss and that you felt a connection…it makes me realize that I never should have been mad or upset in the first place", he said quietly with a relieved look on his face.

"This doesn't make any sense whatsoever", I murmured. Freddie took his hands out of his pockets and placed them on my shoulders again, that half smile coming back out in full force. His touch sent tingles up my spine…it was so calming and it felt so good…

"I happen to think it makes perfect sense."

"Well I don't…it shouldn't…you should be mad at me and cursing me out, and leaving my life forever…you shouldn't be acting so nice to me."

"Sam, I realized that I was wrong to jump to conclusions and think that you and Reuben were actually an item. If anyone should be mad, it's you. I was stupid."

"I ruined your life."

Freddie chuckled, rubbing his thumbs on my bare skin, sending more tingles up my spinal cord. "You've been doing that ever since we met. This isn't any different from before."

"Still doesn't make any sense…", I grumbled, causing him to laugh.

"You're insane."

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Maybe you're insane too."

"What do I have to do to convince you that it makes sense, that I'm not mad, and that--", he said, breaking off before biting his lip and cringing for a second.

"Not as easy as it looks, huh?", I said in a semi-teasing tone, subconsciously touching his arm, not letting go.

"Nobody ever said anything was easy, Sam. But this…this is easy, so I'll say it. I love you."

I suddenly felt my heart soar and my inner being finally arrive at some sort of peace. My soul was shining on the inside like the sun, and suddenly, my body didn't feel so worn down anymore. It's funny how three words can make you go from feeling like absolute crap to being all happy and giddy in mere seconds. I remained silent, because I know if I said anything, I'd sound like a babbling idiot or a hobo in search of food from a dumpster. The words sounded so much better in person than they did in the recurring dream I've been having. This couldn't be happening to me right now…

"You're just saying that."

"I've been saying a lot of stuff for years, Sam. None of it mattered. Telling you that I love you does."

I couldn't help myself…so I let loose such a girly little giggle, Freddie raised his eyebrow in mild suspicion and chuckled. What can I say? The boy brings out the inner daffodil in me. No boy has ever made me feel this way, and I want it to stay that way. I felt like I was on Cloud Nine right now, and nobody could take me down from my perch.

"I don't know how you can though…after all the hell I've put you through."

"Sam, I don't think you understand", he began. "You've done so much to me that I've grown immune to it. You've used my arm as a punching bag more times than I can remember. You've made turning my name into an insult an art form. You've done all these things to me that, if it were any other guy, they'd of broken down crying after being around you for a week. I even got your face tattooed on my arm!", he exclaimed, bringing a reminiscent smile to my lips.

"No wonder you've got the hots for me."

"What I'm trying to say is that…Sam, no matter how many times you call me Freddork or smack me in the face with a fish…I felt like I was indirectly helping you vent your frustrations with your life and the world around you. That's why I never say anything back or flip out like I used to…for your benefit. I figured it'd be easier if I just took it like a man and didn't say anything back, because you'd appreciate that." His cheeks turned a slight shade of pink, and I smiled up at him. That sounded so sweet coming out of his mouth…all these years and I never knew until now.

"Thanks for all that, Freddork", I said, smiling at the nickname. The smile then quickly faded from my lips; it didn't feel right anymore. I looked down at the ground, but quickly felt his hand underneath my chin, lifting it back up to meet his eyes.

"What's wrong?", he asked, his fingers tickling my skin.

"I don't know how I thought making your life a living hell for so long was fun. I mean, it was at first…but now, it just…sucks."

"Don't stop making fun of my name, if that's what you're getting at."

I looked at him, confused. "Why would you want me to continue that?"

"Because it's who we are. I'm the tech weenie who's in love with a blonde headed demon, and vice versa. And besides…I like the nicknames you give me. They're like little affectionate pet names…at least, that's how I look at it. Don't get me wrong, I like it when you actually call me Freddie sometimes, but…I also like it when you call me Fredwad or Fredweird, or Frednerd. It's like a symbol of our relationship…because lets face it, I don't see you giving any other guy any nicknames like that."

He's really good at this. I began to think of all the guys I've met (and made fun of), and not once could I think of a time where I twisted their name into something insulting. Freddie though…wow. He's right.

"Are you sure though? I mean…it doesn't feel right anymore. It feels like I'm hurting you, and I don't want to do that anymore."

"You won't be hurting me. You can't anymore", he states matter-of-factly.

"Oh yeah? And why's that?", I questioned.

"Because I love you, and you love me."

He's said it three times and it gets better every time I hear it. I never, ever thought I'd hear him say those words to me. But here is, saying them, his fingers still tickling the skin under my chin. "You're such a hopeless romantic", I said through stifled giggles.

"I don't know about the hopeless part, but I sure am a romantic", he said with a grin as he leaned forward and kissed me on the nose. And then my forehead, followed by my cheek. I pushed him away, blushing madly and smiling like a goof…but it felt great. I didn't want this feeling to end.

"I can't believe you right now. You're such a nerdy little kid."

He gave me a puppy dog look. "A nerdy little kid who is madly in love with you."

I gave him a light shove on the shoulder, before graciously taking his jacket, which he offered again. Before I could wrap it around my body, however, Freddie did it for me, placing yet another kiss on my cheek while doing so.

"You really don't need to be doing all this for me", I whispered while he grinned.

"Sam, who else would go to such lengths just to make you feel this special?"

I went to speak, but paused. I had nothing. "Who else would willingly be your punching bag for as long as I have?"

Still nothing. "And finally…who else would love you as much as I do?"

That got me. I wrapped my arms around his body and just held him so tightly to the point where I thought I was gonna break his back. He laughed as I dug my face deeper and deeper into his chest, wanting this moment…this night, no matter how badly it started…to never end. Ever. I could feel his fingers run up and down my spine, and I nearly melted again right there. He just held me and didn't let go, I didn't want him to. You know those moments, where after all this conflict and emotional pain and suffering, everything comes full circle and you get like, the perfect little moment at the end of it all? You know, those same sugary sweet moments that I used to loathe and would write off as stupid and lame in the past? Well…

I wouldn't trade this perfect little moment for the world.

"So, what do you say, Sam. Wanna go back to the dance?"

I removed my head from the crook of his neck and gave him a weird look. He wasn't serious, was he? Why would he want to go back, after the scene I made? They'd all think I was pathetic or they'd just laugh at me if I showed face there again. And what would Carly say? I began to fear her reaction just as much as I did Freddie's when I left. But she wouldn't get mad at me, would she? She'd probably be more relieved that I'm alright and not wandering the streets right now. But still…I don't know if I could go back in that school and face everyone. I probably look like crap, and the projected image of everyone laughing at me made me feel like crap just thinking about it. There was no way I could go back in there.

"You're joking, right?", I asked, wanting to make sure that he was.

He shook his head and grinned, looping my arm around his own, slowly and gently leading me to the bottom of the bleachers. I so wanted to plant my feet and stay where I was, but the iron will I usually had went out the window long ago. We were approaching the last step when he spoke out.

"No, Sam, I'm not. Who cares what everyone says? Let's show them up and have a good time. And besides, I need a forum to showcase the dancing skills my mom taught me."

"Didn't you ask Spencer for help? At least, that's what he told Carly and that's what she told me."

"Yeah…didn't go so well", he said lightly as he led me onto the grass of the football field, walking along the sidelines underneath the crystalline stars, arm in arm. Just his mere touch gave me goose bumps…is it so hard to believe that three months ago I thought I had lost him forever?

I looked around at our surroundings and saw that we were no closer to the school than we were five minutes ago. Weird, I said to myself, but I paid it no attention as I glanced up at the skies. I couldn't have imagined a more picturesque-looking backdrop for the evening's events. I could tell that Freddie was thinking the same thing, as I caught his eyes glance up at the stars more than once for a few seconds, only to revert back to looking at me, all lovingly…and stuff. I've got to be the luckiest girl on Earth to have a boy like this in my life. Or at least the luckiest girl in Seattle. I'll settle for that.

"Can you believe it?", I blurted out, mostly to myself. Somehow I had a case of word vomit and out they came. Freddie looked over at me, smiling, one of his eyebrows cocked as he answered the question with his own.

"Can I believe what?"

"Oh…that was kind of a brain fart there…I was mostly thinking it and I just happened to say it aloud…"

"You know what I can't believe?", he asked, turning the tables on me, while I popped my head up to look him in the eyes.

"What can't you believe, Freddison?", I said with a sly grin, catching a small smile on the edge of his lips as he answers. He looks so cute like that. He really does. I'm glad I'm able to notice these things now without wanting to punch him or be repulsed by my own observation.

"That we didn't realize this", he says, pointing between the two of us with his free hand, "earlier than tonight."

I feel my cheeks grow warm, they're most likely flushed red from blushing like some giddy little school girl. It's amazing how two people think alike sometimes. "I was going to say something along those lines, actually…"

He gives me that heart-melting smile again before he brushes some loose strands of my hair behind my ear, kissing me on the cheek. "I know you were. I could see it in your eyes."

"You know me too well, Freddie."

"I've known you since the sixth grade, Sam. I would hope I knew a little about you."

I couldn't help but smile, beam brightly as we came to a sudden stop in the middle of the football field. This confused me a little. I thought we were going back to the dance? I glanced over at Freddie and saw him with that goofy grin on his lips, like he was planning something. I've seen that face…he had it there when he handcuffed me to Gibby. Something was up…

"What's going on, Freddie?", I said, asking the obvious while he raised his finger and snapped it. Within an instant, all of the lights on the field turned on and shined upon us as we stood at midfield. What was he doing?

"You didn't think that Carly wouldn't have a back up plan, did you?", he said, and then it hit me. Far away, in the announcer's booth, I could see her and Gibby standing there, waving down at us like mad, Carly in particular. I thought her arm was going to fall off, she was waving so hard. And of course, Gibson's without a shirt…oh well, it wouldn't feel right if he had one on in the first place. But what did all of this mean? Back up plan? What!?

"Before you say anything, I'll explain it all…when you ran out of the dance, I chased after you, like I should have done three months ago. But right before I got outside, Carly got a hold of me and told me something about how you wouldn't want to show your face in the school again tonight."

"Okay…what does this have to do with what's going on right now?"

"She figured that if I was able to get through to you…that we deserved our own special moment. So that's why she and Gibby snuck out here and rigged up the stadium lights and the sound system. So that you wouldn't have to go back into the school, and so that I could get my dance with you. I know it's ridiculous, but I don't care. You deserve this."

My mouth opened to say something, but no words came out. I looked up to the booth and saw Carly smiling down at us. I can't believe she did all of this. I've just come to the realization that I can never, ever lose this girl as my best friend ever. Honestly, it's been said before, but I can't help but think I'm the luckiest girl on the planet right now. Who the hell else would have friends that go to such lengths to make their other friends happy? I can't name anyone. Like…wow. This is all so surreal…

Before long, Freddie had taken hold of me, his arms wrapped around my back with his hands resting on my waist. I found my hands tangled together, around his neck as we held each other. The song that played that night on the fire escape began to fill the air…**our** song. My resolve melted away again as I felt him dig his face into my shoulder, smiling, I bet. "You told Carly to play this, didn't you?"

"You bet I did", he said, slowly twirling me like a little ballerina. "No other song deserves to be played right now."

"Why though?", I asked stupidly. "Out of all the songs that you could have chosen, why'd you choose this one?"

"I chose this one because…", he started as he pulled me closer, our faces inches apart. "This was the song that played when we first did this."

He then swooped in and kissed me. There were no sparks this time around, though. It was like the 4th of July fireworks show that the three of us and Spencer watch on the roof of the Bushwell Plaza every holiday. I swear on a Gallini coconut cream pie and some orange soda that this was the best feeling in my entire life. The entire night was summed up in just this one kiss, and it ended all too soon for me. He gently and slowly pulled his lips away from mine, and smiled at me as we rocked back and forth to the sound of the song. I rested my head against his shoulder and let him sway our bodies on the grass. The song ended shortly after, but I didn't want it to. I just wanted to keep dancing and dancing, but Freddie got what he wanted, and truthfully, I had gotten what I wanted too; him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Carly and Gibby walking down the steps, heading in our direction. Soon enough, they were there, and I just knew that I needed to get Carly alone and say a few words to her. I looked up at Freddie and he looked to Carly, who was smiling brightly, and nodded his head. She then rushed forward, grabbing me by the hand and taking me a few yards away from him and Gibby. Once we stopped, she let go of my hand and looked at me, waiting for me to say something.

For some reason, I felt tears begin to well up in my eyes again, but I knew that this time, they weren't tears of sadness; they were tears of pure joy. But I guess Carls got too impatient waiting for me to say something, instead jumping into me and wrapping her arms around me in the fiercest hug I'd ever received from her. My arms soon found their way around her back and we stayed like this, both of us crying joyously as we let the silence do our talking. She released her grip and stared at me for the longest time, before she finally found her voice and spoke for the first time since I ran out on the prom.

"You don't know how happy I am for you and Freddie right now", she said softly as she wiped away a tear with the back of her hand. "You honestly don't, Sammy. Do you know how long I've waited for this to happen?", she asked, as I smiled and shrugged my shoulders. "A long time, that's how long!"

"But…I thought you were always freaked out by the thought of us together", I said in a whisper, doing the same to the tears that were still trickling down my cheeks. She shook her head vehemently.

"I was at first. But then, when I thought about it, I realized how good it would be for the two of you, and believe me, I realized that you both knew you wanted to be with each other badly. You're both so stubborn though…so that's why I took action and made this whole plan up by myself."

"I don't deserve you as a best friend", I stated, which earned me a playful smack on the shoulder. "I really don't, Carls. How the heck can I ever repay you for all of this? The make-up, the hair, the dress, the Plain White T's, this moment on the football field…I feel like you deserve some sort of payback for your work."

"You know I don't want you to do anything for me. You and Freddie being happy together is all I want to see and all I want out of life right now. Nobody's more important to me than my two best friends."

I felt the tears begin to rise again, so I just wrapped my arms around Carly and pulled her closely to me, my head buried in her hair as I cried more joyous tears. "Thank you so much, Carly…you really, truly are the best friend a girl like me could ever ask for, and I'm sure Freddie feels the same way. I love you so much, sis."

Her hand begins to stroke my messy blond curls, and I can feel her smiling. She pulls me off, and simply nod her head. "I love you too, sis. Without you, my life wouldn't be nearly as great as it is. Best friends forever."

"Best friends forever", I reply, looking over her shoulder at Freddie, who's standing at midfield, waiting for the two of us to finish our sisterly love fest. Carly turns around and faces him, before motioning with her head. "Come on, Princess Puckett. Prince Benson is waiting for you."

We walked back over to him, where he greeted us with a smile. "I take it you two are feeling pretty good right now, huh?", he asked, to which we both responded with nods of the head and smiles of our own. "Thanks Carly. You rock for all this. If there's anyway I can--"

She held her hand up and silenced him. "I told Sam here the same thing. Don't think of paying me back. You two are happy together, and thus, that means my plan worked and all is well with the world. And your welcome. I just want what's best for you two", she said, giving him a hug. "Now, I don't know about you two, but I'm pooped and could use some sleep. I'm gonna call Spencer and ask him to pick me up…you want a ride back?"

We looked at each other and gave ourselves knowing looks, then shrugged our shoulders. "Give us a few minutes to think about it, Carls. There's still a few things I wanna talk to the demon about", he said jokingly, pointing at me with his thumb. I stifled a laugh and Carly smiled, pulling out her phone and walking a few feet away to dial up Spence. I turned to face him and asked the obvious question on my mind. I seem to do that a lot, I've noticed.

"So, what do you wanna say?"

He looked up at the moon, in all it's reverence and other-worldly beauty. "It's beautiful, isn't it? The moon, that is."

I looked up as well, taken in by it's way to make everything bright, no matter how dark, and how I'd never forget that he said that he loved me under this very backdrop. I smiled. "Yeah…it really is."

"You know what I've realized, though?"

"What's that, Freddie?"

"I realized that it's not as beautiful as you."

I giggled and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. I never knew how sweet and romantic he really could be until now. Guess it takes moments like these to figure out new things about people. "You know what I realized tonight?"

"Yeah, Sam?"

"I never realized how charming you are. I mean, I knew you had it in you, whenever you would try and sweet talk Carly all those years…but I never realized it to this degree. You really are a total sweetheart."

"A sweetheart who's glad to have you in his life."

He gave me a quick peck on the lips before turning back to Carly and yelling out to her, "Hey Carls, thanks for the offer, but we're just gonna walk, alright?"

"You sure??", I heard her call out from the distance.

"Totally!", he responded, waving goodbye to Carly as she waved back and made the 'I'll see you later' hand gesture as she made her way off the field to the parking lot, where Spencer would no doubt be filled in with all the info that came from tonight. I looked at Freddie and shook my head. Walking home, in these heels? I'd rather not…

"We're gonna walk? Ugh…no offense, Freddie, but I'm tired and my feet are killing me…can you just call your Mom and ask her to give us a ride?"

"Nope, because I've got a different idea in mind, Sam."

"What's--", I managed to say before he scooped me up off my feet and held me bridal style in his arms, laughing hysterically as he began to walk off the field, and towards the street, in the direction of Bushwell Plaza, while I laughed and fought him to put me down as soon as we reached the parking lot.

"Freddie, seriously", I said, before he placed me down and then stood with his back to me. "What are you doing?"

"Come on, Miss Puckett. Your chariot awaits you. Just hop on and I'll get us to our destination in no time."

"You want me to piggy back?", I asked incredulously, but smiling underneath at how sweet and romantic this gesture was from him. He turned his head and gave me a grin that made my stomach do flips and my heart flutter. He's got a way with that.

"Don't act like you won't love every second of it", he responded, and before I knew, I was on his back and we were walking away from the school.

As I held onto his neck to make sure I didn't fall, he grabbed my legs and held tight. We laughed and we talked about stuff I thought we'd never ever talk about. He asked me about my mom, I asked him about his…we talked school, fears, life after iCarly…we even talked about why I love beef jerky and ham so much. It was like we had been doing this for ages without even realizing it. It felt great to talk about all of this with him…and just like he said, I loved every second of it. Finally though, we reached the front doors of the apartment complex and stared at them. We didn't say anything, all we did was look at each other, then the doors, almost as if they symbolized a new life, a fresh start for the two of us.

"Are you ready?", he asked as he held the door open for me.

"You bet I am", I said softly as I walked to the door and stopped in front of him. "I love you."

"I love you too", he said as he kissed me once more, before we walked in, past a sleeping Lewbert, and took the elevator up to the eighth floor. After the events of all this, after coming full circle and realizing that yes, even I, Sam Puckett, can love someone and not have them run away from me, I came to this conclusion.

The truth was revealed. There were no consequences.

And that was just how I wanted it.


	15. Announcement

Hey guys, White Firebird here…I've recently come to a decision. I decided that I just couldn't let Truth & Consequences fade away without furthering the story I had set in motion, so…

I'm making a sequel. Yep, you heard right, a sequel. I've actually got this whole big, grand idea to turn all my ideas into a four part story…but right now, my focus is solely on this sequel.

It's going to be called Hello, Seattle. And I promise that it'll be just as fun and awesome as Truth & Consequences was. That's all I'm going to say about it for now, though.

The first chapter is being posted soon (possibly tonight if I don't fall asleep from exhaustion), and it takes place right where T & C left off. Thank you all for your support, I hope you all enjoy the new story in the lives of Sam & Freddie (and of course, Carly & Spencer as well!)


End file.
